Bangor
Squadron Cadets Place First in Cyberpatriot Contest
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
Maine
Wing Ground Teams were requested by the Maine Warden Service to
assist in a ground search for a 50 year old woman, missing since
going out for an evening walk on Sunday. Air Force Rescue
Coordination Center quickly approved the mission and CAP ground teams
from squadrons in Portland, Lewiston, Bar Harbor and Bangor answered
the call. Cold overnight temperatures in the teens and single
numbers caused the Wardens to request additional search parties.
The
Maine Wing Communications Trailer was set up overnight to assist
ground communication and coordination. Game Wardens, local fire
departments and volunteer search teams including mounted and canine
search groups assembled at the Bradford Town Office early this
morning to start the search. Wardens discovered the woman cold and
walking down a local road shortly after all the teams had assembled.
She was transported to a local hospital for evaluation. Wardens will
talk with her once she has recovered.
Lt.
Kevin Adam, the Maine Warden Service Search and Rescue Coordinator,
said “He was glad of the successful outcome and of the skilled
teams that were available for the search”. “The woman had
dressed warmly for her walk and that contributed to her survival in
such cold conditions.”
Awakening a Sleeping Giant
By 2Lt. James Merrill, CAP, Maine Wing, 77th Composite Squadron
It was an early Sunday morning back in 1941; the Pearl was peaceful, quiet as she greeted the rising sun.
The harbor waters were calm, there was stillness in the air, and crews aboard their ships had not a worry or a care.
The Arizona was a beauty, proudly anchored below the morning skies, the Utah and Missouri anchored near her, awaiting crews to rise.
No one had a clue that peaceful morning the terror soon to come, the roar of airplane engines sounded like the beating of a thousand drums.
The day that would live in infamy would soon be here, when that roar off in the distance was now so very near.
A sleeping giant would be awoken as one Japanese Admiral would soon say, and it brought our great country united on that terrible and dreadful day.
From farms and mountain valleys, from sea to shining sea, young men came by the thousands to raise their right hands and take an oath so one day we’d all be free.
They fought on islands scattered along South Pacific shores, like Saipan, the Marshall Islands, Guadalcanal, Corregidor.
Dedicated nurses cared for the wounded as battles would rage on; God bless those nurses who gave so much, each and every one.
Young men landed on beachheads along the shores of Normandy, they fought in open fields of France and in thick forests of Germany.
God Bless them all and we thank them all, it is because of them America is free.
James Merrill is a Air Force Combat Veteran of the Vietnam War
Maine
Wing – US Air Force Auxiliary / Civil Air Patrol Assists in Fall
Windstorm Relief Efforts
The
devastation caused by a large coastal wind and rain storm, called a
“Bomb Cyclone” by meteorologists, continues to challenge the
people and resources of Maine. Nearly 550,000 Maine homes and
businesses were without power in southern and central Maine, more
outages than the infamous Ice Storm of 1998. Nearly 70,000 homes are
still without power five days after the storm. Winds in excess of 90
mph were recorded along coastal Maine, with winds inland over 60 mph.
Downed trees have demolished the Maine electric grid, and even with
help from outside contractors, repair of the system has been slow.
Many roads are closed due to fallen trees, bridge wash outs, and
hanging power lines. Amtrak is only partly operational because of
lack of power at road crossings along the rail line north of
Portland. On the coast, a number of boats at anchor were smashed,
sunk, or thrown up on shore in the Belfast area.
The
Maine Wing of the US Air Force Auxiliary / Civil Air Patrol (USAF-Aux
/ CAP) has been tasked with damage assessment of rail and roadways by
the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and the Maine Department
of Transportation (MEDoT).
MEDoT
has requested CAP’s Maine Wing fly a number of railroad lines and
roadways to pinpoint downed trees, flooded structures and barriers to
transportation. Rail lines from Auburn to Portland and Westbrook to
Fryeburg were inspected and photographed on Wednesday. Additional
flights are planned for Friday and Saturday, weather permitting.
According to LT COL Greg Curtis, Maine Wing Chief of Staff, the
organization has a numerous of highly trained individuals who can
assist in both air and ground operations. Assets available include
sophisticated aircraft, which can provide high-resolution
reconnaissance photography and infra-red detection equipment.
Maine
Wing Commander Col. James Jordan was one of the first pilots into the
air to record the damage along rail lines. Jordan said, “I was
surprised by how widespread the fallen trees and power lines were,
from the coast to far inland Maine”. The digital images recorded
by CAP Aerial Photographers will be downloaded and provided to MEDoT
for damage assessment and estimates. The damage assessments allow
MEDoT to receive funding for repairs from FEMA and US DoT.
Additionally, several personnel are fully qualified for participation
in multi-agency Incident Command Centers and have volunteered to
assist in the state Emergency Operations Center.
Civil Air Patrol- National Powered Flight Academy
Dewitt Field, Old Town, Maine
CAP National Flight Academy Teaches Young Cadets to Fly!
Contact: Capt. Mark Hyland, (207) 515-3959
Old Town- 18 Civil Air Patrol cadets will learn to fly this week at the National Powered Flight Academy held at Dewitt Field in Old Town. The cadets, 16-19 years old from as far away as California, Michigan, and Georgia, will learn to fly, instructed by ten CAP certified flight instructors. The flight instructors and staff are volunteering their time during the week of July 1-8th to help instruct and expose these young cadets to aviation. The academy has been held in Old Town the last five 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 Connor Sobolewski, from Pennsylvania, said “ I love seeing guys come back from what Colonel Vallillo did in the Air Force and commercial with as much experience as he has give back. It's something I would like to strive for one day.” Cadets will stay at the Bangor Air National Guard facility for the week. CAP has brought 10 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 CAPs 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 Dover-Foxcroft, Old Town, Lincoln, Pittsfield, and the Bangor Airports.
Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force, which consists of regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and 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 78 lives annually. Civil Air Patrol’s 56,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. Performing missions for America for the past 75 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capvolunteernow.com for more information
Contact: Capt. Mark Hyland for more information
mark.hyland@mewg.cap.gov or 207 515-3959.
