National Capital, Md. Wings Provide S.C. with Florence Mission Assistance

1st Lt. Rachael J. Mercer
Public Affairs Officer
South Carolina Wing

Additional Civil Air Patrol manpower arrived on Tuesday to provide manpower and resources for the South Carolina Wing’s disaster response to Hurricane Florence.

Three members of the National Capital Wing – Cols. David Sterling, the wing’s assistance director of operations, and Richard Cooper of the Challenger 1 Cadet Squadron and Capt. Sean Green of the Fairfax Composite Squadron – arrived in Columbia with a CAP Cessna 182. Three others arrived from the Maryland Wing – Lt. Col. Sam Herr of the Glenn L. Martin Composite Squadron, Maj. Robert Nelson of the Apollo 1 Senior Squadron and 1st Lt. Richard Malament of the Montgomery Senior Squadron.

In addition, U.S. Air Force Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, who is the commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, stopped by the CAP desk at the South Carolina Emergency Operations Center in Springdale. He was briefed about the tasks CAP pilots have been assigned and have completed, along with damage assessment photographs that aircrews took.

South Carolina Wing aircrews flew 16 aerial photography sorties on Tuesday, three VIP flights for the state Department of Health & Environmental Control and several relocation missions.

They generated 417 photographs for state and federal agencies to review.

“Our response to Hurricane Florence has accelerated our wing’s return to a system of working with a ‘No Borders, No Boundaries’ mindset,” said Col. Lee Safley, South Carolina Wing commander. “Coordinating with our neighbors in North Carolina Wing, while requesting help from other wings, shows our own members that resources can be best utilized when we work together across perceived borders and boundaries to achieve our mission.”

CAP, acting as the Air Force Auxiliary, is supporting Air Forces Northern during Defense Support of Civil Authorities operations following the landfall of Hurricane Florence on the East Coast. AFNORTH's primary role is to support U.S. Northern Command's efforts to provide assistance to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Florence relief efforts.