Civil Air Patrol members from across the Southwest Region gathered Aug. 22-24 for a large-scale disaster relief exercise designed to sharpen emergency response skills and strengthen coordination with local, state, and federal partners.
The training brought together over 152 members from the Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana wings. Using the Incident Command System, participants rehearsed scenarios ranging from chaplain mission support to cross-state and agency communications coordination and post-storm aerial reconnaissance.
The weekend featured a strong focus on communications, especially to ensure wings were able to conduct long-term strategic planning and test cross-wing coordination.
“Exercises like this are vital because they let us stress-test our plans before a real crisis,” said Capt. Mark Chappell, Southwest Region disaster relief officer. “Every sortie we fly, every radio call we make, every simulated rescue we conduct is about building confidence and readiness.
“When our communities need us, we’ll already have worked through the challenges together.”
The exercise featured simulated imagery of critical infrastructure following a simulated severe weather event, which included flooding and tornadoes.
Participants took hundreds of aerial photographs of vital locations across numerous flood-prone areas.
Officials said the Southwest Region exercise was part of a continuing effort to ensure CAP volunteers remain proficient in real-world operations.
“We learned a lot of lessons, and I can say we are leaning forward and in a great position for this disaster season,” said Lt. Col. Jamie Gray, CAP-USAF Detachment 6 commander.
