![](media/image1.png){width="1.2416666666666667in" height="1.25in"}CIVIL
AIR PATROL

United States Air Force Auxiliary

Squadron 23 (CA-016), Marin Air Rescue, California Wing

551 AIRPORT ROAD, BOX 15

NOVATO CA 94945-1404

[http://flt23.cawg.cap.gov](http://flt23.cawg.cap.gov/)

<pcrca016@earthlink.net>

Phone/Fax: (415) 897-2777

# MARIN SAREX -- PLRCA04-017

**[30 Apr-2 May 2004]{.underline}**

**[AFTER ACTION REPORT]{.underline}**

**[http://sq23.cawg.cap.gov]{.underline}**

-   *"Very well organized." - Tony Steiber*

-   *"Went great, normally people are complaining about something but no
    one did." -- Rob Grehan*

-   *"Super job on the whole thing." -- Dana Sampson*

-   *"I was very favorably impressed with what you\'ve accomplished both
    at the your base but also with the organization that went in to the
    SAREX. Keep up the good work." -- Woody McCauley*

-   *"Professionalism needs to be infectious within the organization and
    when we find great performance it must be recognized.  I love to
    catch people doing great." -- John Lewis*

-   *"You guys did a tremendous job." -- Hank Pielage*

-   *"Thanks for the great SAREX" -- Keith Stason*

-   *"Best yet!" -- Mike Prusak*

-   *"The tent was excellent." -- Candice Tuttle*

-   *"Can we use your materials? I've never seen classes before." --
    Diana Ward*

-   *"Main briefing at the start of the SAREX was excellent. The name
    tags on base staff was a great idea. I will look forward to getting
    good advice from you guys in August when we do the same in Redding.
    Thanks!" -- Lindsay Edwards*

-   *"Thanks!! I also learned a lot." -- Wes Bethel*

-   *"I learned that putting on a first class SAREX is real hard." --
    Tom Schiff*

-   *"Congratulations on (running) a really good exercise.  I hope you
    do more of them. The exercise was effective - that\'s no BS praise
    from a cranky old guy." -- Brian Larkin*

-   *"I wanted to say thank you for a very well run SAREX.  It was nice
    having the mini classes going on for those that didn\'t have
    anything do to at the moment. I thought everything was great (except
    for the heat)." -- Sue Willey*

-   *"You guys did a great job! I especially liked all the pre-event
    stuff you did - I felt like I had a real good handle on what was
    happening. You\'re setting a high standard, one that I doubt the
    others (including my Squadron) can match. Keep up the good work." --
    Tim Huckabay*

-   *"An amazing job of pulling it all together. That was NOT a trivial
    project." -- Sam Cogswell*

-   *"You should be very proud to have such quality cadets in your
    squadron!" -- Neal Davis*

-   *"I enjoyed meeting old friends and making tons of new friends." --
    Fred Morales*

-   *"You guys have done a tremendous job putting it together!" -- Kevin
    McDowell*

-   *"Hosting an exercise is no small feat and I was very impressed with
    the prep work that went into the operation. Y\'all have a lot to be
    proud of. My congratulations to the team for a job well done." --
    Ken Gonzalez*

**[GENERAL:]{.underline}**

  -------------------------------------- --------------------------------
  Total Cost Budgeted                    \$6672.00

  Total Cost Actual                      \$5930.12 **(\$741.88 under
                                         budget)**

                                         

  Total Flying Hours Budgeted            85.0

  Total Flying Hours Actual              69.1

                                         

  Total Personnel Anticipated            55

  Total Personnel Actual                 78 (152 people-days)
  -------------------------------------- --------------------------------

-   Communication in advance of the SAREX was timely, complete, and
    helpful. It gave people a good idea what to expect in advance of
    showing up.

-   Registration online with determination of individuals' desires in
    advance GREATLY aided in the predetermination of the functions
    people would perform each day, the registration of personnel in the
    functions they actually performed, and the opportunity for people to
    get assignments in the areas they desired. Note that the
    registration included: Name, CAPID, contact methods, days of
    participation, desired functions, and method of travel to/from. In
    the future, the following should be added to make this information
    even more useful: Senior or Cadet, better-structured method of
    travel, existing complete and trainee ratings (some people requested
    roles for SAREX in which they were wholly unqualified), and the
    ability to directly reply to registrants (had to cut/paste).

-   Nametags for all ICS base staff were provided on neck lanyards so it
    was easy to determine the roles people were playing.

-   A supply of the new National patch was procured in advance. Patches
    were sold to members who showed up with the old patch (which expired
    March 31). There were a dozen members who would have been grounded
    had these patches not been available.

-   All forms, and sufficient copies of them, were neatly organized in
    two racks made available to all members. One rack was dedicated to
    air and ground crews, and the other to mission management/ICS.

-   Preaddressed envelopes were provided to all personnel to minimize
    delays and errors associated with mailing of CAPF108 reimbursement
    requests.

-   The general consensus was that people learned a LOT, misconceptions
    were rectified, weak areas were identified and addressed, etc.

-   Many ICS base personnel were trained (and the trainees really got to
    manage the mission, the IC of record did not have to step in)

-   The Marin Sheriff's Air Patrol was integrated successfully into the
    exercise, providing the members of that organization an opportunity
    to witness how a large mission is run and to practice their DF
    skills.

-   Mini-classes (e.g. how to fill out a CAPF 108 properly, tricks and
    tips re: GPS, how to calculate POD, what is ICS all about, etc) were
    very well received. These allowed idle personnel a chance to learn
    during their down time, and spread the word re: common issues and
    misunderstandings that must be addressed.

-   Very favorable fuel prices vs the bases of all airplanes that
    participated.

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-   The Operations Plan submitted was [significantly]{.underline}
    modified by CAWG before it was sent back approved. Though the
    overall funding level remained essentially the same, there were
    several assumptions that were changed to incorrect values (e.g. we
    assumed \$80/hr total cost of a C182 which was very close to the
    actual cost while CAWG changed it to \$67).

-   The standard Ops Plan form provided by CAWG is very difficult to
    manipulate (e.g. there are some fields, like comm. frequencies,
    which will not allow input).

-   The approval process via CAWG takes too long and is not transparent.

-   Many personnel did not receive direct word of the SAREX and the need
    to register though this information was widely broadcast to "all
    CAWG." It's clear that many count on their squadron commanders for
    all information and that this vehicle is not sufficient.

-   The link between how people registered in the morning, who
    operations knew was available in their function, and what these
    people actually did was too loose (e.g. it was possible for a member
    to register as a Mission Pilot then end up doing duties at the base
    all day, never leaving the ground, and the MMU/WMU would reflect a
    completed MP mission).

-   There were several personnel who showed up without proper
    qualifications:

    -   One pilot who transported a crew to the base was Form 5'd but
        didn't have a Transport or Mission Pilot rating.

    -   One person who rode to the base in an airplane had no ES rating
        at all (including GES).

    -   One plane flown in was on the pre-approved list of
        aircraft/pilots but departed without a flight release from the
        base.

    -   One member who had taken only the Scanner and Observer online
        courses assumed that he was ready to work on his Mission Pilot
        rating.

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-   There were several last-minute personnel cancellations, and a
    handful of people showed up without pre-registration.

-   One person commented that \$20 for a weekend's-worth of breakfasts
    and lunches was too expensive.

**[SAFETY:]{.underline}**

-   No one was injured.

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-   All aircraft were inspected and very completely (resulting in the
    grounding of two planes until issues were resolved).

-   Tie-down spots away from busy FBO and transient parking were
    identified for all CAP aircraft in advance to minimize traffic
    around aircraft.

-   The Squadron 23 Marin CAP headquarters was safe, well laid out, and
    had sufficient safety materials (e.g. fire extinguishers, medical
    supplies, smoke alarms, emergency lighting, etc).

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-   Sufficient water was provided to keep all personnel hydrated.

-   Most safety items (e.g. location of hospital, local hazards) were
    covered completely on special instructions published prior to SAREX,
    and remaining items (e.g. identity of EMTs present, location of
    local medical supplies) were covered in daily briefings.

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-   Should have had all the aforementioned safety items posted
    prominently on the wall (MIO can collect and publish this).

-   There were no fire extinguishers on flight line (other than those in
    each plane).

-   There was no plan for rescuing the crews of airplanes in accidents
    on the airport (anticipating fire, etc).

-   No instructions were given to Ground Teams re: how they should
    handle issues in the field (e.g. injury, crash, etc).

-   Aircraft inspections took too long, could have been done in parallel
    with air crew briefings.

**[PUBLIC AFFAIRS:]{.underline}**

-   History Channel personnel were pleased with CAP's cooperation and
    the footage they were able to obtain. We hope this will lead to good
    press for CAP.

-   A San Francisco State University student doing a documentary on CAP
    got sufficient footage that she should be able to complete her
    project.

-   One person was trained each day as an MIO greatly expanding the
    NorCal MIO pool.

-   The MIO had a dedicated office (the squadron commander's).

-   MIO was included in all advance communication regarding SAREX to
    allow her to better inform the press.

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-   Due to so much focus being put on the History Channel effort, and
    the Squadron PAO becoming ill just prior to the SAREX, insufficient
    notification was given to local press.

-   Normally MIO activity would be isolated from operations. This was
    not possible due to the nature of the filming (which caused a good
    deal of displacement and disruption around the base).

-   There was no dedicated effort or established process for keeping the
    MIO informed of key information (e.g. unusual events, numbers of
    resources used, etc)

**[COMMUNICATIONS:]{.underline}**

-   The roll-call check-in process worked well on Sunday (much better
    than the "each airplane calling in" process used on Saturday).

-   Having Operations close to the Communications room, and having
    overhead broadcast of radio traffic, allowed Operations personnel to
    closely monitor the status of teams.

-   A number of MROs and a CUL were professionally trained.

-   The Squadron 23 communications room was very well outfitted, and a
    number of suggestions were received from the CUL mentor regarding
    potential improvements.

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-   Need better radio discipline (too many personnel push the button
    THEN think).

-   Need to enhance training of all personnel re: the use of repeaters
    vs Simplex (most people don't think about going to Simplex when this
    would work so they instead broadcast local communications throughout
    the Bay Area).

-   Ground/air communication was poor during the filming event (e.g. the
    ground team member being photographed didn't understand well enough
    how to operate the radio she was given and couldn't change the
    frequency when down in a canyon where the repeater couldn't be hit,
    communications between the airplanes wasn't clear so one ended up
    returning to base before the mission was entirely completed)

-   The transmitter on the air-band radio at the base failed Sunday
    afternoon making communication with distant private aircraft
    impossible. Neither the cause of the failure nor whether the radio
    is repairable has yet been determined.

-   Air Operations should have been allowed to communicate directly with
    air resources (we did this with ground teams) by putting a radio in
    the air ops area. Communications could have then focused solely on
    the "other" traffic.

**[ADMINISTRATION:]{.underline}**

-   There was a sufficient quantity of basic supplies (white-board pens,
    paper, pens, forms, etc).

-   A network of 10 computers (all with MMU and virus protection
    software) was well established. The MMU was used for all
    registration (with 4 portables) greatly accelerating the whole
    process.

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-   The MMU crashed several times and we lost virtually all of the
    registration data on the first day. Subsequent discussions revealed
    that the MMU is known to be unstable when too many computers are
    accessing it simultaneously, though this was not clear during
    advanced research or testing.

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-   It was unclear whether personnel dedicated to mentoring were
    expected to pay the registration fee (in fact, it's still not clear
    what the best policy should be in this area).

**[LOGISTICS:]{.underline}**

-   The large military tent with an ample supply of tables and chairs
    was extraordinary. It kept crews cool, gave people a good place to
    plan sorties, eat, and relax.

-   The base was well laid out with an area for briefing all personnel
    and conducting classes, dedicated crew briefing areas, isolated
    areas for operations, communications, and MIO.

-   Extra PCs with internet access and printers were available for
    people to review the WMU, take online courses, etc. Several people
    were able to achieve ratings during the weekend that otherwise would
    have been impossible. Note that the primary printer was in the
    Operations area which resulted in more traffic flow than was
    desireable.

-   Ground transportation to and from local hotels was sufficient (with
    2 CAP vans and 2 CAP Expeditions plus many personal vehicles).

-   Food timing, quantity and quality were good. Note that for 75
    people/day we ordered the following from Safeway and it turned out
    just about right: 3 large meat/cheese trays, 3 large condiments
    (lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, etc) trays, 3 large bread/roll trays, 6
    dozen cookies, and 4 large bags of potato chips\...plus mayonnaise,
    mustard, etc. We used approximately 4 cases of soda and 10 cases of
    bottled water during the weekend. The serve-yourself approach worked
    well because teams drifted in and out of base at different times.
    And having bottled water allowed field crews to take water with
    them.

-   Restrooms were clean and there were enough (2 permanent bathrooms
    and one outhouse).

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-   Fuel concession shut down early on Saturday (cause not yet
    determined), though this was late enough that no planes were
    grounded as a result.

-   Red Cross and Salvation Army were unable to provide non-urgent
    services (food, vehicles, or personnel). Red Cross did provide some
    coffee urns and drink containers that were useful.

-   There was a shortage of trash cans

-   We ran out of water on Sunday morning and it took some time to
    restock (especially because the first people who went shopping came
    back with mineral water).

-   We had OJ, coffee, apples, and multiple flavors of bagels and cream
    cheese in the mornings. One person asked for "Real doughnuts, fruit
    (or anything but bagels) in the AM."

**[AIR OPERATIONS:]{.underline}**

-   No unexpected aircraft showed up, and all aircraft that were
    expected showed up. This ensured the Air Force permissions were
    proper and greatly aided with planning.

-   The planning for crew, plane, and scenario assignments was very
    smooth on Sunday (a contrast with Saturday due both to advanced
    planning done Saturday night and the personnel).

-   Having experienced pilots from crews brief other crews worked well.
    It would have been preferable to have a staff of briefers identified
    well in advance, as well as to ensure these briefers were familiar
    with the questions they had to ask (we provided the briefing and
    debriefing guides, but not long enough in advance to allow these to
    be studied.

-   Training of MSAs went well.

-   Giving all crews inbound assignments (mostly photographic missions
    of 2-3 landmarks along their general paths) made good use of inbound
    time. These assignments could have easily been "photo all yellow
    trucks en route" or "windmills" or ... that would keep crew engaged,
    not just on autopilot. Feedback from crews was that the assignments
    could have been more specific and difficult (e.g. "Photograph the
    truck parked closest to the Berryessa Dam" instead of just
    "Photograph the Berryessa Dam.") and that we might add some spice to
    the missions by having a "Best Photograph of the SAREX" competition.

-   Mixing of crews and planes challenged all and is a good idea for a
    SAREX (but generally not for missions). This revealed weaknesses and
    allowed people to learn from those they don't normally work with.

-   Crews really liked the fact that "bringing the airplane doesn't make
    it yours" was published in advance. Keys were collected at
    registration, but this process could have been improved by putting a
    "key board" in Operations, and putting a neck lanyard on all keys,
    that would allow clear checking in and out of planes.

-   All aircraft managers must update and appropriately complete
    aircraft records in the aircraft binder (including 50 and 100 hour
    information on the cover) before aircraft go to SAREXs. One plane
    was grounded for some time until the appropriate records could be
    located.

-   Ensuring all crews exercised multiple skills on each assignment
    maximized learning (e.g. DF an ELT to a grid, talk a ground team
    into the ELT, then find the wreckage in the grid (which may not be
    collocated with the ELT), then photograph it and report its location
    properly over the radio).

-   All teams had digital cameras as requested in advance.

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-   Good that dedicated tie-down locations (with no fees) were
    identified in advance

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-   Though air crews should be encouraged to fill out their own Form
    104s, briefers/debriefers must be diligent about reviewing these
    forms to ensure key information is not omitted (e.g. time totals at
    the bottom of the page).

-   Several airplanes were dirty upon arrival (especially the A36 3173W)

-   A36 3173W should have a CAP radio (ICs present agreed that they
    would not utilize aircraft for most missions unless they have CAP
    radios...they encouraged owners of private aircrft to get CAP
    radios, minimally external antennas for portables).

-   The DF equipment in one airplane was not operational (265HP).
    Additionally, the DF antennas should be mounted on the belly, not
    the top of the fuselage.

-   The POH for one airplane went out with a Ground Team thus grounding
    the a/c for the day.

-   The AOBD on Saturday was trying to be personally involved in
    everything related to planes (e.g. inspections) so got behind on
    briefings and the operations board and never caught up. He should
    have delegated more tasks.

-   Launching of the first teams was too late in the day (could have
    started whole operation earlier in the day).

-   While not rushing crews and sacrificing safety, we must find away to
    assist air crews to make planning more efficient (some took \> 1
    hour to plan a relatively simple task).

-   Plans for crew/sortie assignment combinations were insufficient in
    advance of the first morning. The team organizing the SAREX
    determined the names of all people who would be available for each
    role each day, but did not group them nor determine their sortie
    assignments in advance since it was felt the ICS staff should do
    this. More planning should have taken place on Friday night, or
    earlier on Saturday morning.

-   Having the film crew delayed launching crews by over an hour because
    the briefing areas were occupied.

-   The scenarios were not established until Friday night, and the
    sorties could have had better "stories" surrounding them. This is
    one of the key things to have done in advance.

-   Completing one assignment, by the coast, was not possible due to
    fog.

-   Too much paperwork was left undone until the end of the day.

-   Two mission pilots departed together half-way through Saturday,
    leaving us with planes and crews but insufficient pilots.

-   One grid search destination contained the busy Virgil Parret
    airport. This was a bad choice for air and ground crews to be
    working due to the heavy traffic.

-   IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE THAT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO TEST:

    -   Use T-cards to monitor the status and availability of all
        individuals (fire service approach...we started down this path
        but didn't follow it through to the end).

    -   Get a bank of transponder codes assigned to the exercise which
        we could in turn assign to individual aircraft to allow
        real-time monitoring of each airplane via the web (thereby
        increasing the visibility we have that all a/c are safe).

    -   Testing of all crews on their equipment before release was not
        sufficiently done to have a good feeling for how many crews
        would have demonstrated complete competence (e.g. "show me how
        to change the radio to a different repeater" or "show me how to
        bring up the GPS grids then how to change the GPS so that it
        will display grids for us if we fly to an area covered by a
        different sectional")

**[GROUND OPERATIONS:]{.underline}**

-   There was a good mix of assignments (signal mirrors, ELT, air/ground
    communications, etc).

-   All teams had digital cameras as requested in advance.

-   Base to crew communications was direct and worked out well.

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-   Crews were generally ill prepared for long sorties, not carrying
    enough water or food.

-   Trainees reported that there was a wide range of skills and
    abilities to mentor others demonstrated in the field. Mission Crew
    Certification Boards are critical to making sure people are not
    obtaining ratings only by "checking the boxes."

-   Crews were redirected in the field from one destination to another
    before they had quite reached the first. This resulted in a LOT of
    driving time vs time actually working on UDF and other skills.

-   At least one Elper was reported to be functioning at less than an
    optimal level.

-   UDF and Ground Team members should keep log of location, activity,
    etc.

-   ALL teams should constantly monitor 121.5 (air and ground crews).

-   The maps carried by members of the team were insufficiently detailed
    to navigate local roads.

-   One of the teams was given a "ramp check" assignment with an N
    number that had too many digits. Because some members of the crews
    were pilots, they immediately realized this was a "bogus assignment"
    so the crews didn't expect to find a plane and thus did a very
    cursory search of the airport.

-   There was disagreement on the teams whether "ramp check" included
    the hangars or not. They ended up, for the reason noted above, not
    checking any hangars.

-   The ramp check was ordered at a private field. CAP personnel marched
    onto the field and walked it from end to end. All CAP personnel
    should be aware that many fields are private, and always checking
    with the airport management before wandering around the ramp is well
    advised.

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-   IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE THAT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO TEST:

    -   Use T-cards to monitor the status and availability of all
        individuals (fire service approach...we started down this path
        but didn't follow it through to the end)

**[COMMAND:]{.underline}**

-   The whole mission was run successfully by trainees without the need
    for the IC of record to intervene! This was a GREAT trial by fire
    learning exercise.

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-   Must ensure that comments in the general briefing are brief AND that
    they are focused on the right audience. Pilots can be taken aside
    afterwards if there are a number of comments only for them (e.g.
    "watch out for the towers")

-   Ensure that CAWG briefing guide has been reviewed so no key points
    are missed.