Iowa Wing News Online
Monday, May 24, 2004
Iowa CAP is growing strong again in Northwest Iowa. The Northwest Iowa Composite Flight received its official charter Saturday night at a ceremony at the Central Iowa Composite Squadron Dining-Out.
After two years of hard work and determination, the officers and cadets that make up the Northwest Iowa Flight have reached the level of service and independence to be chartered as a CAP unit.
Two years ago two CAP volunteers moved to Storm Lake, IA from Colorado. Chaplain Major Jack Barber and SSgt. Kern Kemp approached Iowa Wing about creating a CAP unit to service Northwest Iowa. They partnered with the Central Iowa Composite Squadron to work towards chartering a CAP unit. During the process SSgt. Kemp had to move back to Colorado for his job. Gary Colvin stepped forward and took the helm of the fledgling organization. Because of his hard work, the unit acquired a base of operations at Sac City Municipal Airport.
Since moving to Sac City, the flight has hosted several bivouacs, a search and rescue exercise, and the 2003 Wing Ding. In the summer of 2003 the Sac City Base was outfitted with VHF base radios, making it capable of being a turnkey Command Post. Since then, the Sac City base has served as the Incident Command Post for three actual searches and as a radio relay base for a half dozen more.
“They have worked hard to reach this point and will continue to grow and be a valued asset for Iowa CAP,” said Iowa Wing Commander Colonel Ralph Tomlinson. “This flight will be the first step in re-establishing Civil Air Patrol in Western Iowa.”
The units charter members include:
1st Lt Gary Colvin – Commander
Chaplain Maj Jack Barber
1st Lt Ann Colvin
1st Lt Jim Currie
Capt Dennis Dahl
2d Lt Mike Egesdal
SM Tim Grieme
SM Mike Hall
SM Anthony Mione
SM Krista Mione
C/Amn David Camp
C/SrA Joel Bodholdt
C/SMSgt Justin Colvin
C/SrA Josh Egesdal
C/MSgt Aisha Grieme
C/Amn Billy Hall
C/AB Nick Mione
Monday, May 10, 2004
By 1st Lt Mike Gorham and 1st Lt Shannon Juhl
On the afternoon of 6 May 2004 the Iowa Wing of the Civil Air Patrol received a call requesting help for a very special event. Mike Gorham, Chief of Police for Hazel Green, Wisconsin was given less than twenty-four hours notice by the United States Secret Service, that President George W. Bush was going to travel through his community. The President was on a campaign tour through Iowa and Wisconsin. After a speech in Dubuque, IA, the motorcade was routed through Hazel Green with a significant possibility that the President may stop to visit with school children along the route.
Facing a staffing reduction issue earlier in the week, Chief Gorham had only four police officers and other county and state law enforcement assets were committed to the route throughout the county. Hazel Green has two major highways and was part of a major detour route adding to the problem. The United States Secret Service told Chief Gorham that he was responsible for providing crowd control and security along the route. The Secret Service was only responsible for the protection of the President and the motorcade itself. Chief Gorham was instructed to shut down the highway and no traffic would be allowed to travel through Hazel Green. With almost two dozen intersections, not including several parking lots for business and a school Hazel Green was faced with an enormous task.
Hazel Green had limited internal assets to cope with the situation. Chief Gorham had a few volunteer firefighters and rescue squad volunteers.
Police Chief Gorham, a member of the Dubuque Composite Squadron, wanted to use Civil Air Patrol personnel for help with traffic and crowd control. This mission would be to assist as traffic control at intersections and reporting suspicious situations to the local law enforcement. It took a lot of organization to gain permission for the Iowa Wing cadets and officers to assist outside of the normal wing and region boundaries.
The Dubuque Composite Squadron, the closest CAP unit, was tasked first, and ten dedicated volunteers responded to the call. However, they could not field all the personnel needed, so the East Iowa Cadet Squadron was called on, and nine cadets and officers were available to help.
Capt Pat Roper, Commander of Dubuque Squadron coordinated with the local law enforcement; 1st Lt Laura Schauer, Dubuque, and 1st Lt Shannon Juhl, East Iowa, were responsible for the organization of the CAP volunteers.
After assembling around 0830 at the local fire department, which was used as a staging area, the group was briefed by Capt Roper and Police Chief Gorham. Then the officers worked out placement of personnel, and everyone was dispatched to their stations. Along with Civil Air Patrol, local fire, police, and EMS personnel were on scene to man checkpoints.
CAP cadets and officers were in their places, doing a very professional job, when the President went through town a little after 1100 hours. The President was clearly visible to the crowd as he waved from his tour bus, which was accompanied by a large number of Secret Service vehicles, throngs of news media representatives, and military helicopters overhead. Although it was over in a few moments, all who participated no doubt will remember it for many years to come.
CAP volunteers returned to the staging area to be de-briefed, and were praised for their professionalism and orderly conduct.
“Our cadets and officers demonstrated great professionalism and orderly conduct, and the cadets especially acted with great maturity and responsibility,” said Dubuque Composite Squadron Commander Capt Pat Roper. “Everyone exemplified the core values that CAP is known for.”
Also, CAP members once again demonstrated their ability to respond quickly to an urgent situation, as all were tasked in less than 24 hours.
Iowa CAP volunteers stand their vigilant watch as President Bush’s motorcade passes safely through Hazel Green.
After President Bush’s visit, the CAP crew stands for a picture.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
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Des Moines, Iowa – The local Civil Air Patrol Squadron is changing! Captain Kim Kirschman relinquished command of the Des Moines Composite Squadron to Lieutenant Mike Ramey at a ceremony held at the Ankeny Regional Airport Tuesday night. The Des Moines Squadron is based out of the Ankeny Airport and focuses on providing air support for Civil Air Patrol search and rescue, disaster relief, and homeland security operations.
Captain Kirschman has commanded the squadron for just over a year and plans to continue his CAP service with the Civil Air Patrol. He has been awarded several commander’s commendations and is qualified as a CAP search and rescue pilot with several “finds” to his credit. He is taking a position as the Iowa Wing Inspector General. This new positions will entail inspecting other CAP units to ensure they are complying with regulations and providing public services per our mandate. Kim is the Director of Student Affairs / Registrar for Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny.
“Captain Kirschman has been a tremendous asset and has helped us to maintain a strong Civil Air Patrol presence in the Des Moines Metro Area, “ said Col. Ralph Tomlinson, Iowa Wing Commander. “Having a strong CAP presence in Central Iowa is important for the Iowa Wing and I know Lieutenant Ramey will continue that growth.”
The selection of Lieutenant Ramey was based on his experience both at the local and state level. He has earned jack…. “I look forward to continuing on the path Captain Kirschman has lead us on,” stated Lieutenant Ramey “We will continue to increase the number of CAP volunteers in Central Iowa and help make Civil Air Patrol known throughout the community.”
Lieutenant Ramey is a Sergeant with the Polk County Deputy Sheriff’s Department and has been with the department for over 16 years. He is a former graduate of Lincoln High School and served in the United State Marines Corps for four years. Mike is an accomplished pilot and is working towards becoming a CAP Search and Rescue Pilot. Mike and his of 20 years, Marla, live in Pleasant Hill.
