Squadron 601 News

Aerospace Education Field Trip

Squadron 601 recently visited the Wheeling, WV Airport. What a huge piece of history still in operation.

After visiting the Wheeling, WV Airport we went over to the fence of a WV National Guard Blackhawk Squadron to look at the Birds.  We got a huge surprise, we where treated to a person tour of the facility and the birds themselfs.

Squadron 601 at the Greene County Fair
DDR and Recruiting

Squadron 601 goes to PA Wing Summer Encampment

Name the 601 cadet in this line?

Left to Right 1st LT Hobgood, CAP NCO and WWII Living Historian Paul Casalese from the New Jersey Wing, 1st LT Porter, SM Silassy

Pennsylvania – The Washington Composite Squadron 601 went to the World War II Reading Air Show to assist Squadron 811 on June 6^th and 7^th, 2009. Five Seniors ad two Cadets helped at the event with crowd control, traffic direction, and parking assistance. The members camped out over night at the air field.

There was down time as well where the Squadron got to walk around the Air field that had Air Craft and Static Living History display from the World War II Era. Many of the planes demonstrated their flying abilities over the air field. This was a great first hand experience of History.

The Reading Air Field was home to Squadron 22 of the Civil Air Patrol during World War II.

1st  LT Porter with WWII Living Historian

Camp site

1^st LT David Shaw
Assistant Public Affairs Officer
Washington Composite Squadron 601
Pennsylvania Wing

	Education and Awareness are Keys to Safety in the Woods Learn to recognize signs of drug labs or fields, and be aware of your surroundings 28 January 2009 Lt Col Paul Falavolito, 1Lt Pat Nicholson, 2Lt. Felicia Browell Group 1 Pennsylvania Wing West Mifflin, Pennsylvania If you say to yourself or your team, ‘hey, what’s this thing doing way out here?’ and it doesn’t belong where you are, don’t touch it, Pennsylvania State Trooper Josh Giran explained as he launched the Safety in the Woods class, Saturday 24 January 2009, at the U.S. Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Squadron 602 hangar, Allegheny County Airport. This was just one theme the presenters emphasized. The all-day class proved very enlightening for the many participants of a Civil Air Patrol-organized class that had all involved thinking very differently about what real Safety in the Woods means today. Planned and organized by Civil Air Patrol Lt Col Paul Falavolito and hosted by Major Robin Steiner and the members of Squadron 602, one hundred seventy attendees learned how to recognize many of the hazards of drug-manufacturing chemicals, by-products and waste products, and the dangers created by marijuana growers. All this in addition to the effects of the drugs themselves. Trooper Giran, a Vice and Narcotics specialist, educated attendees on these issues and various rules to raise everyone’s awareness of potential safety issues around illegal drug labs, methamphetamine labs in particular. He discussed the history of methamphetamines, who makes it and how, and its effect on the people who use it. The slides that Trooper Giran showed illustrated the signs not only search and rescue personnel should be ready to recognize, but also how to stay safe. Key to this is knowing what to look for.   State Trooper Giran instructing the meth class.   Remember the game something here is not like the others? Keep that in mind, because if something in an area doesn’t belong, it should be suspect. For example, a milk jug in a bathroom, a bucket of liquid on a roadside, a cooler in a field, or a discarded propane tank, like the one shown here. All could contain dangerous or deadly chemicals and should be treated as potentially hazardous. Other things to watch for include large quantities of out-of-place garbage, empty solvent containers, propane tanks with greenish or bluish residue around the valves, and buildings, areas, or even vehicles with odd odors. Strange behaviors, too, can be a clue.   Example of a discarded propane tank like those used in meth production. Meth users can be paranoid, Giran explained, If you happen on someone you think is using the drug or making meth, you need to stay calm and talk to them slowly. Keep your hands visible and tell them everything you are going to do before you do it. Trooper Giran repeatedly emphasized that CAP and EMS personnel must be aware of things that are out of place and pay attention to their surroundings. He gave a detailed presentation on meth lab operators, how they make their illegal drugs (called cooking), and how dangerous this cooking process is and why. Trooper Giran displayed a variety of tools and containers used to cook meth, and showed actual pictures to demonstrate the dangers presented when SAR personnel walk into an operating or abandoned lab. The class also learned how to recognize signs that they could be approaching a meth lab; Giran explained how deadly these labs can be. The class received the very clear message that under no circumstances should any SAR personnel approach a lab. If someone finds what looks like a lab, never touch anything don’t go inside, don’t turn anything on that is off, don’t turn anything off that is on. Some of those who cook meth also set traps for intruders traps that can pose a real danger to CAP, EMS, and law enforcement persons.   Lt. Col. Paul Falavolito, director of Counter Drug Operations for PAWG, presented next, educating the attendees about Cannabis sativa, a.k.a. marijuana. Marijuana is a cash crop, and growers are protective of their plants. Attendees were reminded of the dangers of using marijuana, as well as the dangers presented by the growers themselves, for example how they booby trap their fields. With the media hype more commonly given to designer drugs and narcotics, marijuana is sometimes called ‘the forgotten drug’ but it is still out there, still big business, and far more potent than it was in the 1960s and 70s.   Lt. Col. Falavolito instructing the marijuana portion of the class.   The THC concentration in marijuana was about 7 percent in the 70s; today it can be as high as 80 percent, Lt. Col. Falavolito said. Participants watched a video and slide presentation, and with a little practice, most were able to tell the difference between marijuana and similar looking plants in a slide show quiz. Depending on the age of the plant, it has particular growth and flowering habits, and the leaves have from five to nine lobes each. They also learned to identify potential marijuana plants in aerial photographs. Next Lt. Col. Bill Geyer showed photos and discussed how to recognize the obvious signs that you might be approaching a marijuana field if you are on a ground SAR mission. Some human-created signs include gardening tools, garbage bags or water buckets, fencing to protect young plants, and nylon bags containing human hair to make animals avoid the area. Sometimes, growers will booby trap their plants or the areas around plants, too.     Close up of a marijuana flower spike. Retired Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Jim Fulmer spoke about booby traps, adding his experience and comments to the slide show that illustrated several types, often built from commonly available parts like animal or rat traps, some using shotgun shells. The example shown here would have used a shotgun shell. Several mock-up booby traps were on display to help attendees recognize them. To tie all the marijuana information together, the program closed with a video called ERAD 97, showing an actual marijuana field being eradicated. An example of a shotgun shell-rat trap  booby trap recovered at a marijuana growing site.   Attendees comprised CAP members from many squadrons in Groups 1, 2, and 6, as well as agencies like the FBI, state and local police, the medical examiner’s office, other SAR organizations, and paramedics and EMTs. In follow-up discussions later, several attendees summed up lessons learned as this: look for out of place, excessive quantities of unusual garbage, or unusual odors when on a SAR mission. It was an incredible turnout for an eye-opening, informative, and often entertaining set of presentations. The instructors received a standing ovation for a great class. # # #