The Air Force is evaluating hundreds of Civil Air Patrol members from North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia for the next week on their ability to respond to real-world emergencies, reported Virginia’s Stafford County Sun. The graded search and rescue evaluations are meant to gauge CAP members’ “response to an emergency of a magnitude requiring cooperation between multiple [CAP] wings,” according to the newspaper’s July 21 release. Many of the CAP participants are between 12 and 18 years of age. CAP ground and air teams from the three states are conducting air and ground searches, attempting to locate numerous targets. Overhead photography captured by the CAP aircrews is supporting crisis and emergency management officials in the drills, states the report. These evaluations “are a real ‘win-win’ for both the CAP and the Air Force,” said Wendy White of the Virginia CAP Wing. The evaluations began on July 20 and run through July 29. CAP is the Air Force auxiliary.
The Air Force announced Aug. 13 it recently tested prototypes for a portable ground station for commanding and controlling semi-autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft, and a spokesperson now says the plan is to award a contract for the effort next summer.
