> 14 April, 2007

MEMORANDUM FOR CAP HI WG/CC

FROM: CAP-USAF PLR/CC

6500 B St, Bldg 2529

Beale AFB CA 95903-1712

SUBJECT: HI/WG 2006, Guided Training Exercise (GTE)

Report Part 1

In accordance with Pamphlet 12 Interim Guidance for CAP Biennial Search
and Rescue/Disaster Relief/Homeland Security/Counterdrug Guided Training
Exercises, the attached report, labeled Part I, is forwarded to you and
your staff for review. No response is required.

//Signed//

ANTHONY J. POLLIZZI JR., Lt Col, USAF

Commander

Attachment:

Control Staff Instruction

Exercise Plan

Control Group lessons learned

Training Summary

cc:

PACR/CC

PACR/DO

PLR/DO

PLR/HI SD

HQ CAP-USAF/XO/XOV

Each team member

**CAP-USAF PLR REPORT, PART I,**

No grades were assigned to the CAP HIWG Guided Training Exercise (GTE).

**[GTE Team]{.underline}**

[Instructors:]{.underline} Lt Col Calvert PLR/DT, Maj Grogan/PLR/DO,
Mike Wojcik - NV SD, Col Jim Denton, Col (CAP) Larry Myrick, Lt Col
(CAP) Peggy Myrick

[Exercise Planner]{.underline}: Lt Col Toft/PLR/RF

[HI SD]{.underline}: Doug Miller

**[SCENARIO]{.underline}**

The HIWG GTE was primarily a disaster relief scenario based on a
hurricane evacuation followed by a tsunami. The hurricane required
participating aircraft to relocate to Oahu and taxi to Hickam AFB to be
hangared. Later, the hurricane stalled out and an earthquake in the
North Pacific caused a tsunami. Aircraft were dispatched Friday for
tsunami warning flights all over the state. On Saturday, all aircraft
were relocated to Oahu and an extensive National Incident Management
System was created. Aircraft were then dispatched to different parts of
the state for photo missions following the tsunami. Also, a lost hiker
was reported with a personal locater beacon on Oahu. A ground team was
dispatched with DF capability. A spurious ELT was set off on Maui and a
simulated aircraft crash was set up on the Island of Hawaii to include
an ELT and a mock downed airplane.

**[TRAINING SUMMARY]{.underline}**

The HI WG made excellent use of this Guided Training Exercise. One of
the emphasis areas was using the IMU to dispatch and track aircraft.
Several individuals were very proficient and the capabilities of the
system were noticed by all. This proved to be a real motivator for those
unfamiliar with IMU to study it.

Having all of the states' aircraft and many of their key players in one
place was beneficial since operations are usually island specific.
However, the Island of Hawaii's airplanes were late and did not attend
the IC's initial briefing. The exercise team's plan required altering
and training was affected by these airplanes showing up late. In the
future, aircrews should fly in on Friday and spend the night.

The Wing accomplished it's objectives by transporting a member of the
GTE team to Maui and back in a safe and effective manner. The tsunami
warning missions were accomplished in an outstanding manner and were a
highlight of the exercise. Disaster relief missions to photograph
tsunami damage were also successful. There were also excellent
photographs that were uploaded into WMIRS in a timely fashion. The
ground team found the lost hiker expeditiously but this could have been
accomplished sooner had the IC utilized an aircraft in the area to
search for the hiker with his DF equipment. A simulated aircraft crash
on the Island of Hawaii was never found. This could be due to faulty
beacon equipment. Communications problems that occurred on Friday were
corrected. Communication was solid throughout most of the day. A problem
occurred when the two individuals who were taking care of all base
communications had to leave early. There was no changeover plan, thus
operations suffered.

Overall, the HI Wing used the GTE to upgrade many individuals in key
positions. For example, there were two IC upgrades. The mission was
characterized as a successful exercise with lots of on the job training
accomplished.

**[CONTROL GROUP LESSONS LEARNED]{.underline}**

This was a challenging event for the control group. The Hawaii WRC who
was in charge of the exercise was forced to retire just prior to the
exercise date. He was the only member of CAPRAP in the state, so little
was planned in advance. This left us with the less than optimal
situation of having to plan the details of the GTE in the few days
leading up to it. Lt Col Stu Toft did a superb job of finishing up a
great exercise plan in just a few days. Col Jim Denton, Larry and Peggy
Myrick were invaluable assets to the team and did a fine job of
mentoring the relatively inexperienced PLR staff members. The exercise
plan was accomplished very well. The only thing we could have done
better was to emphasize the importance of the downed airplane on Hawaii
by use of message traffic. Our initial plan was to have one of the CAP
aircraft taking pictures on Hawaii "disappear" which would have caused a
robust search. Unfortunately, our "disappearing aircraft" had
maintenance issues and was not able to take off. We had to default to
plan B and call the crash sight as a reported downed aircraft. This
combined with beacon issues resulted in the Wing not aggressively
searching for the downed aircraft, which was the control groups' intent.

ANTHONY J. POLLIZZI JR., Lt Col, USAF

> Commander