Iowa Wing News Online
Thursday, June 10, 2004
By Capt Bruce Tiemann
Public Affairs Officer
East Iowa Cadet Squadron
Inez McAllister, 75, poses in the doorway of the Beech BE-18 she jumped from at 'Fly Iowa' in Washington, Iowa. 2d Lt McAllister and a tandem jump instructor bailed out of the plane at approximately 9,000 feet and floated to the ground, much to the delight of spectators at the event.
75-year-old Inez McAllister made her first ever parachute jump at 'Fly Iowa 2004' in
Washington, Iowa on 5 June. McAllister bailed out of a 1950s-vintage Beech BE- 18 twin-engine plane at approximately 9,000 feet during a tandem jump with an instructor from Paradise Skydives, Inc., of Vinton, Iowa.
"I've always wanted to do this," said McAllister, who is a Second Lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol's Washington-Brinton Cadet Squadron. "They were suprised I was so relaxed. I thought I might be nervous when it came time to jump, but I wasn't at all." McAllister re-joined the Civil Air Patrol last year after serving with the organization during the 1940s and 50s. An officer of the Washington-Brinton Cadet Squadron purchased the parachute jump on McAllister's behalf.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
By Major Doug Jansen
Iowa Wing Director of Public Affairs
A delegation of Russians officials traveled to Iowa this past month as part of the "Partnership for Peace" program launched in 1994 to help ease post-Cold War tensions. The Iowa National Guard sponsored the group, which is composed of high-ranking Russian officials who are part of that country's emergency management command (EMERCOM). One of the nine is the mayor of a town with 350-thousand residents; another is a fire chief who supervisees a department with 37-thousand employees.
The purpose of the visit is to build ties with individual Russians in hopes of having a "peaceful relationship" with the country in the future. During the trip, they've visited Iowa's National Guard Headquarters at Camp Dodge and other government and emergency services facilities. The group spent one morning with the Iowa Wing after the Wing had a successful exercise with the National Guard.
Maj. Doug Jansen, Iowa Wing Director of Public Affairs, gave them a presentation on what Civil Air Patrol does and how it was created. The first questions the delegates asked were not expected.
“The Air Force uniform initially threw them,” said Major Jansen. “They thought that our officers were actual Air Force officers and the Ankeny Airport was a Civil Air Patrol Base. We eventually helped them to understand our unique partnership with the U.S. Air Force”
Col. Mike Krenz, North Central Region Vice Commander, gave the group a presentation on the new Satellite Digital Imaging System. The presentations were topped off with hands on demonstrations with the slow scan and SDIS systems on the ground. The delegates were able to take several pictures using each system as well as have a question and answer session regarding the execution and funding of our operations.
“They seemed a bit surprised that we volunteer to do this for free,” said Iowa Wing Commander Colonel Ralph Tomlinson. “The Russians were thankful that we do this for our country and were very interested in how we work with federal, state, and local authorities.”
The two highest-ranking delegates received brief flights in CAP aircraft with the slow scan system to show them how easy it is to capture an image from the air and send it to the ground.
Vladimir Ivanovich Khomukha, Chief, Southern Regional Center for Civil and Territorial Defense from Emergency Situations (the equivalent to a CAP Region Commander) and Colonel Anatoliy Aleksandrovich Osokin, Chief of Department for Rear Services, Southern Regional Center were able to see how the slow scan system works while bouncing around the Ankeny Airport and at 1,000 feet.
The Russians were a bit surprised by their experience in Iowa. The group thought there might be some reluctance among the American people to welcome them into the country. The Civil Air Patrol ended the morning by having an informal lunch with the delegation at a local restaurant.
The Iowa National Guard plans to continue participating in the program next year and will be including Iowa Wing in the schedule once again.
The Russian Delegation stands with Iowa Wing Commander, Col Ralph Tomlinson, for a picture after their presentation.
Vladimir Ivanovich Khomukha, Deputy Chief, Southern Regional Center for Civil and Territorial Defense from Emergency Situations prepares to takeoff with 1st Lt Terry Kruse for a sortie to see how the slow scan can transmit from the air.
1st Lt Terry Kruse takes Vladimir on his sortie to get "hands on" with our slow scan system.
