Civil Air Patrol Squadron hosts Search & Rescue exercise Saturday

Joplin Regional Airport, Joplin MO. – Members of the Col Travis Hoover Composite  Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, will be hosting a Search and  Rescue/Disaster Relief exercise on Saturday, October 19, 2024.

Residents  throughout the area may see CAP aircraft, ground teams, and small unmanned  aircraft systems (drone) crews during the exercise.

Mission Base will be at the Joplin  Regional Airport General Aviation Terminal. The exercise is expected to start at  around 8:00 AM and run till around 4:00 PM. Incident Commander for the Joplin  Mission Base will be Lt Col Raun Hamilton, Missouri Wing Communications Officer.

Utilizing a series of pre-planned scenarios, including a missing aircraft, missing  person and storm damage assessment, members of the Col Travis Hoover  Composite Squadron with support and participation from other southwest Missouri  squadrons will training in skills such as: 

•   Aerial damage and assessment photo reconnaissance of critical infrastructure,  including roads, bridges, levees, and reservoirs. 
•  Ground team inspection of above critical infrastructure, as well as airport runways.  Aircrew and ground team searches for missing aircraft and persons.  Flight line marshalling of CAP aircraft at mission base and staging area airports.  Damage assessment, disaster relief, and search and rescue training for small  unmanned aircraft systems (drone) aircrew; including preparation of orthomosaic  imagery. 
• State-wide communication drills, including the use of an airborne communication repeater.
•  Use of the National Incident Command System (ICS) for command and control.  Continuous mission base staff training.

Statewide and local training exercises are held on a regular basis several times each  year. Additionally, the Missouri Wing is evaluated every other year by the U.S. Air  Force to ensure that its members can perform as required for the missions they are entrusted with by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center.

Acting as a Total Force partner and official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, Civil  Air Patrol performs missions assigned by First Air Force to rapidly respond in a  Defense Support of Civil Authorities capacity to save lives, relieve suffering, prevent  property damage, and provide humanitarian assistance. 

About the Col Travis Hoover Composite Squadron
The Col Travis Hoover Composite Squadron is composed of 45 members including Cadet and Senior Members. Assets include a Cessna 172 aircraft, one 12 passenger van, extensive communications equipment and several small unmanned aircraft systems (drones).

About Civil Air Patrol
Established in 1941, Civil Air Patrol is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and as such is a member of its Total Force. In its auxiliary role, CAP operates a fleet of 555 single-engine aircraft and 2,250 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and performs about 90% of all search and rescue operations within the contiguous United States as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Often using innovative cellphone forensics and radar analysis software, CAP was credited by the AFRCC with saving 108 lives last year. CAP’s 56,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. As a nonprofit organization, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace education using national academic standards-based STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education resources.