South Carolina Civil Air Patrol Completes Ground Search Training

Columbia, S.C.—Despite the intense heat in the area, Civil Air Patrol cadets and senior members recently spent 48 hours sharpening their search and rescue skills at the Clark’s Hill Training Center near McCormick, S.C.
Civil Air Patrol has varying qualifications in its Search & Rescue training—including Ground Team Member, level 3 which is an entry level position, through Ground Team Leaders. Ground Team Leaders are those members who have completed multiple levels of training and then complete a specialized Ground Team Leader course, and are prepared to lead a team of Civil Air Patrol volunteers on a mission.
Once trained and certified at any level, it is important that members practice these skills in preparation for real-life missions. The training held at Clark’s Hill is just one of many search and rescue training opportunities offered to the members of Civil Air Patrol in the South Carolina Wing. In September, both a Search & Rescue Exercise (SAREX) and a Field Training Exercise (FTX) will be held to further develop the skills of Civil Air Patrol members.
At the 2019 National Conference held in Baltimore, Md., earlier this month, the South Carolina Wing was selected as the Mid-Atlantic Region Search and Rescue winner based on its scores as determined by United States Air Force evaluation. And just recently, members of South Carolina Wing of Civil Air Patrol assisted the North Carolina Wing in a search for a person who had remained missing for four days. These South Carolina Wing members were also on the ground team which located the missing person and assisted in his extraction from a heavily-forested area in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Even as Hurricane Dorian continues to move toward the mainland of the United States, members of the South Carolina Wing of Civil Air Patrol are preparing to serve neighboring states and wings if called upon. Training weekends like the one held at Clark’s Hill earlier this year ensure the members of the South Carolina Wing are ready to serve.
Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. In this role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 80 lives annually. CAP’s 60,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. In addition, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to over 25,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com or www.CAP.news for more information.
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