Media & Public Affairs
Civil Air Patrol’s Maine Wing Assists in COVID-19 PPE DistributionAUGUSTA, Maine (Jan. 15, 2021) – Civil Air Patrol’s Maine Wing delivered another round of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) this week to religious centers in Portland, Mexico, Oquossoc, Augusta, Waterville, Skowhegan and Bangor. Wing members had previously delivered PPE to first responders in Alfred, Brownfield, Gilead, Norway, Otisfield, Denmark, Paris, West Paris, Fryeburg, Kezar Falls, Oxford, Sumner, Saco, Rumford, Mexico, Brunswick, Woodstock and Lincoln. In all, the Maine Wing has carried out 11 sorties delivering PPE, with more scheduled for next week. Capt. Scott Higgins, the wing’s incident commander for the mission, said the deliveries have been made at the request of the Maine Emergency Management Agency. The wing is also assisting the Penobscot County Emergency Management Agency by providing emergency operations center staff to assist with logistics and resource requests. Civil Air Patrol is delivering PPE in numerous states in its role as the U.S. Air Force auxiliary. CAP is aligned with First Air Force to rapidly respond to nonmilitary threats domestically when tasked in a Defense Support of Civil Authorities capacity to save lives, relieve suffering, prevent property damage, and provide humanitarian assistance. The Maine Wing has aircraft and aircrews in Augusta, Bangor, Sanford, Lewiston/Auburn and Portland. The wing can deploy its five aircraft and ground teams to assist in emergency response and other support to local, state, tribal and federal agencies. The wing has more than 330 members in squadrons in Sanford, Portland, Brunswick, Lewiston/Auburn, Augusta, Waterville, Bar Harbor, Machias, Bangor and Caribou. Civil Air Patrol is the longtime auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and as such is a valued member of its Total Force. In its auxiliary role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 single-engine aircraft and 1,994 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS). It performs about 90% of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 82 lives annually. CAP’s 56,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Operating as a nonprofit organization, CAP also plays a leading role in STEM/aerospace education, and its members serve as mentors to nearly 21,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.CAP.News or www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com for more information. CAP Contact Info Maj. Mark Hyland Public Affairs Officer Maine Wing 207-515-5959 Mark.Hyland@MEWG.CAP.gov capvolunteernow.com l gocivilairpatrol.com l capmembers.com New Maine Wing Commander Inducted; Former Maine Wing Commander HonoredSeptember 22, 2019, saw the Change of Command ceremony in which Col Jack Ozer officiated. Col Jack Ozer, the Civil Air Patrol Northeast Region Commander, took the Maine Wing Flag from Col James Jordan as he relinquished his near 5 year tenure as the Maine Wing Commander and passed the flag to Col Blain Cote as he accepted his responsibility as the incoming Maine Wing Commander. A Wing Commander, in the Civil Air Patrol, commands all units in its wing, promotes CAP objectives and purposes throughout the wing, and ensures the wing fulfills the goals that are passed down by the region, and to set goals of its own and fulfill those as well. Wing commanders are appointed by the region commander and hold the grade of Colonel. Pictured: Left Col James Jordan; Middle Col Blain Cote; Right Col Jack Ozer Photo credit to Lt Rhonda O’Shea Previous to the change of command, Col James Jordan was presented with two awards from Civil Air Patrol; both of which underline and celebrate the accomplishments made by the Maine Wing under the Command of Col Jordan. The Distinguished Service Award, and a plaque for distinguished Service as Commander were for many achievements, including two new Squadrons were created and many cadets earned their Mitchell and Earhart awards as well as many Senior Members moving through the Professional Development tiers and earning their Yeager Awards. The last 5 years of the Maine Wing have shown growth, resilience and improvement. After presenting Col Jordan with these awards, Col Jordan articulated his confidence that the next 4 years, under the Command of Blain Cote would be even more eventful, as Col Cote had many great ideas and initiatives and that Col Jordan looked forward to celebrating the continued growth and success of the Maine Wing. Photo: Left: Col James Jordan; Right Col Jack Ozer Photo Credit: Lt Rhonda O’Shea New Squadron Commander takes the helm of the 78th Composite SquadronPictured: Left: Col James Jordan, Middle: Lt. Col Blain Cote, Right: Maj Andrew Goldman Picture courtesy Rhonda O’Shea September 22, 2019, saw the Change of Command ceremony in which Col James Jordan officiated. Col James Jordan, the Maine Wing Commander accepted the Maine Civil Air Patrol Flag from Lt Col Blain Cote as he relinquished his Command of the Sanford Squadron and presented the flag to Maj Andrew Goldman, as Maj Golmdan welcomed his responsibility as the new Squadron Commander for the 78th Composite Squadron, located in Sanford, Maine. Maj Goldman, after accepting his Command, had an opportunity to speak to the nearly 40 in attendance, saying that he was nervous about taking the Command position, but was confident in the team he had and recognized the support of the Maine Wing as he began this new Duty. Lt Col Cote had been the Commander to create the 78th Composite Squadron in Sanford, back in 2014. Lt Col Cote had been in Civil Air Patrol as a Cadet and had continued his membership in CAP as a Senior Member. After being involved with the NH Wing, Col Cote moved to Maine where he petitioned the Maine Wing to create a new Squadron in Sanford. After the last several years, Sanford has grown into a stable, well managed and well organized Unit, earning excellent reviews during its last audit and high praise from Maine Wing Leadership. Maj Goldman has been a member of the Maine Wing since 2015 and is a Transport Mission Pilot with an instrumental rating within the organization. The transition to Commander should be a smooth transition, as he has been the Deputy Commander for the Unit for many years. 58th composite Squadron Portland Recognizes Dedicated Service Major Ralph Gamache  1st Lieutenant Dante Vespigani Major Ralph Gamache was recognized with the Red Service Ribbon on May 3rd, for his over 40 years of service and dedication to The Civil Air Patrol. 1st Lieutenant Dante Vespigani was also honored with a Red Service Ribbon for his over 10 years of Service to the Civil Air Patrol. The Red Service Ribbon is awarded at the end of 2 years of Service. The First Bronze Clasp is awarded at the end of 3 additional years, a total of 5 years of service to Civil Air Patrol. A Longevity Device which is a metal number, denoting years of service, awarded at the end of 20 years and in increments of 5 years thereafter. Both Major Gamache and 1st Lieutenant Vespigani were recognized in front the entire Portland 58th composite Squadron. 
As part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, Captain Andrew Robinson Recognized Major Steve Higgins service as a Vietnam Veteran. Major Higgins was awarded the Vietnam Service pin and Presidential Proclamation commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Conflict. Major Higgins served in the United States Air Force in Vietnam in 1967 as a ground radio technician.
Lost Valley Ski Area drew dozens of VeteransNineteen Organizations were represented as Lost Valley Ski Area drew dozens of Veterans to “Ski for Free in the Valley”. The Maine Wing of the Civil Air Patrol is the US Air Force Auxiliary, was one of those organizations. Looking to recruit new members and inform the community about the numerous benefits of the Civil Air Patrol, members came to meet new people and get the word out. Cadet Staff Sgt Matthew O’Shea was involved in his first outreach platform and was impressed, “There are a lot of good people here representing many organizations that support Veterans, from Adaptive Sporting Equipment to Fallen Hero Recognition, it is great to be here” and O’Shea continued with “the Civil Air Patrol needs to be involved in these activities to show people what the Civil Air Patrol can offer them personally and their communities, like Aerospace Education and Cadet Programs”. “The Veteran support community really does make a difference,” Lt. Col. Jerry DeWitt of the Civil Air Patrol stated. Mr. DeWitt also works closely with the Lewiston/Auburn Vet Council and Tri-County Mental Health as well as numerous other organizations centered around Veteran support and stability. “This is a great event, allowing Veterans to ski for free and having an opportunity for the veterans and the public to see how many people are there to serve Veterans and their families. No one needs to feel alone, we have a lot of people looking to give assistance”, DeWitt emphasized. --------------------------------- Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. In this role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 80 lives annually. CAP’s 60,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. In addition, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to over 25,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com or www.CAP.news for more information. Veterans Day 2018  November 2 may not be a day of celebration on the calendar’s in most homes, but to Marshwood Middle School this year, November 2 was a Veterans Day Celebration to remember. The 18th Annual ceremony to honor military and first responders lasted nearly 2 hours as the community gathered to celebrate and praise the bravery, sacrifice and dedication of the many men and women who actively put themselves in a position to protect the freedoms and the very life we value today. In the midst of such an Observance, the Civil Air Patrol Cadets of the Sanford Composite Squadron 078, participated with Honoring the Colors of our Flag. Marching together, quiet and earnest, and participating in the ages old tradition, these four cadets, who are very new to Civil Air Patrol, Posted the Colors at the event and performed admirably. “Cadets Dylan Boston, Cameron Sutton, Piper Edwards and James Luttrell did a fantastic job posting the Colors at this morning’s Veterans Day Service” announced the Sanford Commander, Blain Cote, “You all made me very proud to be the Commander”, he finished. These inexperienced cadets spent about four weeks getting ready for their very first color guard ceremony. “To see young people work hard and balance school, work, sports, free time, Civil Air Patrol responsibilities and the added work of learning the steps and rituals of the Color Guard, is extraordinary,” commented Commander Cote. Wallace Berg, a Veteran who attended the Ceremony on November 2, stood and saluted the other Veterans, honoring all Veterans. This day to reflect on the outstanding contributions of the community with choral and instrumental dedications as well as speeches filled with pride and honor and respect; all put into perspective by a salute from one man to all men and women. By: 2nd Lt. Rhonda O’Shea  2018 Joint NER-CT Wing Conference recognizes one of Maine Wing’s elite members. Lt. Col. Jerry Dewitt, Recruiting Officer and Government Relations Advisor of Maine Wing was awarded the George Texido Legislative Officer of the Year Award at the Northeast Regional Conference, on October 13, 2018. Lt. Col. Dewitt’s dedication to the Maine Wing assists with our Cadet Programs, recruiting opportunities and contact with the Maine Legislature. He has recruited 20 members of Maine’s Legislature and 9 members of Maine's Congressional Delegation Representatives, including Congressman Poliquin, Senator Collins and staff from each of their offices and a staff member from Congresswoman Chellie Pingree’s office. Additionally, Lt. Col. Dewitt is involved at the Squadron Level as an Assistant Aerospace Education Officer and Assistant PAO. Picture shown, Lt. Col. Jerry Dewitt receiving the George Texido Legislative Officer of the Year Award from Col Jack Ozer, NER Commander.
October 6, 2018
Change of Command Ceremony for the 58th Composite Squadron
By: Second Lieutenant Emily Estes
Oh what a night for the 58th Composite Squadron in Portland, Maine! Not only were two cadets and one senior member promoted, but there was a change of command ceremony! Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Emrich-Shanks was promoted to Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Level II. Cadet Senior Airman St. Clair was promoted to Cadet Staff Sergeant. Senior Member Lapointe was promoted to Second Lieutenant.
C/SSgt St.Clair being pinned by his father, Second Lieutenant St. Clair, and his grandfather, Gene St. Clair.
The outgoing First Sergeant C/MSgt Lambert ended her term and passed on her position to the incoming First Sergeant Cadet Technical Sergeant Corcoran. The outgoing cadet commander Cadet Senior Master Sergeant Sawicki ended her term and passed on her position to the incoming cadet commander Cadet Master Sergeant Lambert. C/CMSgt Emrich-Shanks ended his term as deputy commander. C/SSgt St. Clair ended his term as the Supply Sergeant and has now become a Flight Sergeant. Cadet Senior Airman Griffin has now become the new Supply Sergeant. 
Squadron Commander Captain Robinson hands over the guide on to C/MSgt Lambert. September 27, 2018
WWII Bomber Planes Make An Appearance
By: Second Lieutenant Emily Estes
Ever wanted to travel back in time and see some of the bomber planes from past wars? The Collings Foundation Airshow hosted an event at the Portland International Airport September 19th, 2018 - September 21st, 2018. During this event, the B-24J Liberator, P-51 Mustang and the B-25 Mitchell were on display as well as taking passengers on flights. Senior members from the 58th Composite Squadron based out of Portland, Maine, was asked to volunteer during the event to do flight line security. Each day, about five senior members from the squadron volunteered to help out.  Photo of P-51 Mustang taken by Second Lieutenant Terry Lambert
During the event, senior members are able to walk around and view the antique planes as if they were part of the public crowd. On Thursday, one of our Public Affair Officers, Second Lieutenant Emily Estes was talking pictures of the planes, inside and out. When asking one of the Co-Pilot’s of the B-25 Mitchell, Clark Labbe, for special permission to enter the cockpit of the plane to take some pictures, he surprised her by offering her to take a flight with them on the plane. Without hesitation, she said yes. Another senior member, Captain Eric Earle, was also offered a flight in the B-25 Mitchell and without any hesitation at all, he agreed. 
Photo of B-25 Mitchell taken by 2d Lt. Estes
After the flight, Capt. Earle commented, “If it wasn’t for Civil Air Patrol, today would probably have never happened. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so very thankful that the crew allowed us to take a flight in the B-25. I will never forget this amazing opportunity.”
 Photo of P-51 Mustang taken by 2d Lt. Terry Lambert
During the flight, the occupants on the plane were able to unbuckle and move around. Lt. Estes spent most of the flight in the back of the plane were the machine gun was located. Many pictures and even a couple of videos were taken during the flight. 
Photo taken by 2d Lt. Estes in flight on the B-25 Mitchell
The Collings Foundation mission is to support living history events and preserving historical artifacts that enables Americans to learn more about the past and their heritage. They are based out of Stow, Massachusetts but they travel all over the United States to present their displays to the public. A major focus of the foundation has been the “Wings of Freedom Tour” which showcases the B-24 Liberator, B-17 Flying Fortress, P-51 Mustang and the B-25 Mitchell. 
B-24 Liberator Encampment 2018 Canceled Due to an unforeseen situation, Maine Wing must cancel the 2018
Encampment. We are very sorry for the short notice but this situation was out of our control.
CAP National Flight Academy Teaches Young Cadets to Fly!
Old Town- Eighteen Civil Air Patrol cadets will learn to fly this week at the National Powered Flight Academy held at Dewitt Field in Old Town. Cadets 16-19 years old from every state in New England and from as far away as Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, and South Carolina, will learn to fly, instructed by ten CAP certified flight instructors. The flight instructors and staff are volunteering their time during the week of June 22 to June 30th to help instruct and expose these young cadets to aviation. The academy has been held in Old Town the last six years, hosted by the City of Old Town and the airport staff. Cadets will receive 10 hours of flight instruction and approximately 25 hours of ground school about flight rules and aerodynamics. Several of the cadets will solo by the end of the week.
Cadet Amos Grant, from Leeds Maine, said “Every day is intense flight training. We started flying the first day! The instructor turned the controls over to me and had me climbing and making turns right after takeoff.” Cadets are staying at the Bangor Air National Guard facility for the week. CAP has brought ten Cessna 172 aircraft from several states to support this activity and to provide the flight instruction. Cadets will learn on various models of the Cessna 172 including the latest computer equipped Garmin G-1000 glass cockpit found in many commercial aircraft. Lieutenant Colonel Cathie Spaulding, Director of this year’s flight academy, stated, “Cadets really benefit from the concentrated instruction from CAP’s experienced flight instructors. The cadets are excited to learn during a week of all aviation”.
Aircrews will use various airfields in the Bangor area for takeoff and landing practice, including Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft, Old Town, Lincoln, Pittsfield, and the Bangor Airports. The cadets will learn crosswind take-offs and landings, traffic patterns, stalls, turns around a point and steep turns. Ground school will include topics like weather, radio communications, taxiing, traffic pattern operations, aircraft weight and balance, aerodynamics, aircraft engines, flight mechanics, and preflight planning.
Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. In this role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 80 lives annually. CAP’s 60,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. In addition, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to over 25,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com or www.CAP.news for more information. The Cyberpatriot quarter final results were announced on February 1st. The Bangor Squadron (NER 035) placed first in the all-services division in the state of Maine, the cadets also placed second nationwide in the all-services Silver tier Division besting over 200 CAP, Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine JROTC teams. C/A1C Aiden Dow and C/Amn Christopher Persinger came to the competition rounds eager and prepared and it was a pleasure to see them so engaged. This qualifies them to go on the semi-finals round. Capt. Michael Mitchell is the senior member coach of the Cyberpatriot Team. The National Youth Cyber Education Program (CyberPatriot) was created by the Air Force Association (AFA) to inspire students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation's future. At the center of CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. The competition puts teams of high school and middle school students in the position of newly hired IT professionals tasked with managing the network of a small company. In the rounds of competition, teams are given a set of virtual images that represent operating systems and are tasked with finding cybersecurity vulnerabilities within the images and hardening the system while maintaining critical services. Teams compete for the top placement within their state and region, and the top teams in the nation earn all-expenses paid trips to Baltimore, MD for the National Finals Competition where they can earn national recognition and scholarship money.
The round always begins with the "ReadMe". This document details the role the competitor will play in the competition, usually that the competitor is a newly hired systems administrator and gives a brief description of the system requirements, What should be available to which users, what users should have admin roles vs user roles, and mostly, what is unacceptable on the system regarding software and stored files. The competitors gain points based on the corrections they make to the "compromised system" and then additional points for the steps they take to correct items that leave the system open to attack. A perfect score is 100 points per Operating system. In the Quarter finals, there were 3. The point values for each correction vary based on the severity of the vulnerability. There are also "forensic" questions that challenge the Competitor's problem solving skills. This
year, there are over 3000 Teams worldwide that participate in the
competition. This is split into High School, Middle School, and
All-services divisions. CAP participates in the All-services Division
which includes Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine ROTC's plus Sea Cadets
and CAP Cadets. This group numbered 1109 teams. After the first 2
rounds the teams were further divided into Tiers. Bangor Squadron was
part of the Silver Tier which compromised approximately 300 teams.
Bangor Squadron placed first nationwide in the All-services Division,
Silver Tier for the Quarter- Final Round, qualifying then to proceed
to the Semi-Finals. The Semi Finals are to take place this coming
weekend.
Maine Wing – U S Air Force Auxiliary - Civil Air Patrol Assists Maine Warden Service in Missing Person Search |
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