Civil Air Patrol Long Beach Senior Squadron 150 Participates in Statewide Training Exercise

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. - May 27, 2016 - PRLog -- Airmen from Civil Air Patrol Long Beach Senior Squadron 150 participated in a statewide Wing Led Training Exercise (WLE) conducted by California Wing on 30 April through 1 May, 2016, designed to test and measure the capabilities of the Wing, while providing training experience for CAP members.

Two area mission bases established; one in Northern and Southern California and an Area Command base in Bakersfield. According to Capt. Charles Christian, CAP, the area commander for this training mission, close to 200 members, 15 aircraft, and 17 corporate vehicles participated in this mission; with over 50 air sorties flown throughout the weekend.

WLE training missions included:

• Taking airborne pictures and conducting visual reconnaissance for FEMA
• Conducting visual search for a downed Cessna 182 based on cell phone forensics
• Searching for the location of an activated emergency beacon
• Urban Directional Finding (UDF) ground-based tasking

Squadron 150 members Capt. David Powell, 1st Lt Michael Wetsman and 2nd Lt Rommel Anacan all participated in this year's exercise. Capt. Powell maintained his proficiency as a Mission Observer, 1st Lt. Wetsman also maintained his proficiency as a Mission Observer and gained valuable experience as a ground-based Mission Safety Officer, and 2nd Lt. Anacan successfully completed his qualification to become an aircrew Mission Scanner.

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force's Total Force, which consists of Regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and performs about 85 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 70 lives annually. Civil Air Patrol's 58,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. Civil Air Patrol received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. Congressionally chartered 74 years ago, the nonprofit organization also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capmembers.com for more information.

Squadron 150 is a part of California Wing and South Coast Group 7. The California Wing includes 3,000 senior members and cadets, and South Coast Group 7 encompasses six squadrons in Orange County, California.

Squadron 150 is composed entirely of senior members (adults aged 18 and older) and meets every Thursday from 7:30pm-9:30 pm at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base and visitors are always welcome. The address is 3976 Constitution Ave Los Alamitos, Calif.