Pointing the way

Cadet 1st Lt. Carson Hadley uses a direction finder to search for the source of beacon signals at Midway Marina in East Haddam. Hadley belongs to the Connecticut Wing’s Danielson Cadet Squadron. Photo by Cadet Master Sgt. Kiefer Jenkins, 399th Composite Squadron, Connecticut Wing

36112,

August

2018

16:49 PM

America/Chicago

Conn. Encampment Cadets Participate in Beacon Search Mission

2nd Lt. Steven Chesler
Encampment Public Affairs Officer
Connecticut Wing

Cadets attending the Connecticut Wing Encampment wound up participating in a real-world mission Friday after electronic beacon signals were reported coming from the Hartford area on a frequency of 121.5 MHz.

After the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center contacted the Connecticut Wing about the signals, the wing’s commander, Col. James A. Ridley, assumed the role of incident commander and ordered a CAP plane launched from Hartford-Brainard airport. The aircrew reported strong signals over Goodspeed Airport and the surrounding area in East Haddam.

Lt. Col. Meghan Brownell, the wing’s director of emergency services, was attending the wing encampment at Camp Niantic in East Lyme a short distance away. At her recommendation, and with the approval of Ridley and Capt. Jeffrey Jenkins, encampment commander, a cadet ground team with senior leadership was assembled to locate and silence the electronic beacon.

After conducting a ramp search at Goodspeed Airport the ground team moved on to two marinas in the area. At Midway Marina very strong signals led them to a boat with Rhode Island registry and the signals’ source – an emergency position indicating radio beacon with expired batteries. The ground team shut off the device and removed the batteries.

Job well done

Capt. Jeff Jenkins, Encampment Commander, assists Col. Gerald Lukowski of the Connecticut Army National Guard with the presentation of find certificates to ground team members involved in the search -- 1st Lt Gary Lawton, Cadet Airman 1st Class Nicholas Yusim, Cadet 1st Lt. Lt Dominic Sogliuzzo, Cadet Staff Sgt. Samuel Schumann, Cadet 2nd Lt. Ailysch Markowitz and 1st Lt Craig Markowitz. Lawton, Sogliuzzo and Schumann are Connecticut Wing members of the Northwest Hills Composite, 103rd Composite and Stratford Eagles Composite squadrons. Yusim belongs to Brooklyn Tech Cadet Squadron No. 1, Cadet Markowitz to the Brian M. Mooney Cadet Squadron and Lt. Markowitz to the Col. Francis S. Gabreski Squadron, all in the New York Wing. Photo by 2nd Lt. Steve Chesler, Connecticut Wing Encampment Public Affairs Officer

During the encampment graduation Saturday, guest speaker Col. Gerald Lukowski of the Connecticut Army National Guard, chief of staff of the state Military Department, helped award the mission participants with find certificates.

“This was an excellent opportunity for the encampment cadets with emergency services qualifications to demonstrate leadership and teamwork in action,” Ridley said. “The quick manner in which they prosecuted the mission and silenced the signal was perfect.

“I am so glad that their efforts were rewarded at graduation in front of Col. Lukowski and other Connecticut Military Department officers who have been strong supporters of the wing and Civil Air Patrol for so long,” he added.