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S ALVO U.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal - Since 1813 August 2017 We made it right the first time Now ... we will make it better Delivering Future Readiness
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Newsletter from the Army's Oldest Operating Arsenal - August 2017

Jan 28, 2018

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Page 1: Newsletter from the Army's Oldest Operating Arsenal - August 2017

SALVOU.S. Army Watervliet Arsenal - Since 1813

August 2017

Story on Page 3

We made it right the first timeNow ... we will make it better

Delivering Future Readiness

Page 2: Newsletter from the Army's Oldest Operating Arsenal - August 2017

Page 2 Salvo August 31, 2017

The Arsenal Salvo is an authorized monthly publication for members of the Department of Defense. Contents of the Salvo are not necessar-ily the official views of, or an endorsement by the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, or the Watervliet Arsenal. News may be submitted for publication by sending articles to Public Affairs Officer, 1 Buffington Street, Bldg. 10, Watervliet, NY 12189, or stop by office #102, Bldg. 10, Watervliet Arsenal. The editor may also be reached at (518) 266-5055 or by e-mail: [email protected]. The editor reserves the right to edit all information submitted for pub-lication.

Commander, Col. Joseph R. MorrowPublic Affairs Officer, John B. SnyderEditor, John B. SnyderPhotographer: John B. Snyder Arsenal Facebook Page @https://www.facebook.com/WatervlietArsenal?ref=hlCover Photo: USMC photo of M777A2 being airlifted in Afghanistan.

Colonel Joseph R. MorrowCommander’s Corner

A former Arsenal commander said right after he took command in 2010 that the Arsenal workforce is too good to be ignored. I have often thought about that statement and have tried to put it into today’s context to get a better un-derstanding as to why after 197 years of continuous opera-tion would a commander make such a statement. Although it has been seven years since that statement was made, we must look back to that time period to under-stand the comment’s genesis and to assess as to whether or not we have made improvements in not being ignored on the national and international stages. When Col. Mark Migaleddi made the statement it was in the midst of the United States ending its major combat operations in Iraq. At about the same time, Congress was leading a groundswell of discussion about how best to re-direct defense dollars to domestic priorities. After all, with brigade combat teams coming home, the funding that was required to sustain those brigades overseas was no longer needed in the defense budget, or so, some thought. This Congressional effort eventually became the Budget Control Act of 2011, to what many here know as Sequestra-tion. For those of you who have been here more than 25 years, you may recall that this type of discussion occurred right after the First Gulf War when many elected officials wanted to invest a “Peace Dividend” back toward domestic requirements. That Peace Dividend translated into about eight reductions in force conducted here over a nine-year period. And so, it may just be that Col. Migaleddi well under-stood the Arsenal’s history and he was concerned that his-tory might repeat itself — in regards to the consequences of a declining defense budget — unless we changed the way we engaged those outside of our fence line.

During the seven years after Col. Migaleddi took com-mand, we did experience a significant decline in workload and with a decline in workload came a decline in the num-bers of employees here. But your efforts not to be ignored have paid off. Al-though we are still operating in an uncertain defense budget environment, new contracts, in significant numbers, are flowing in for us to support U.S. and allied armies. With one month to go before the end of the fiscal year, we have already locked in more than $100 million in new contracts over last year’s amount. Additionally, in those new orders are nearly $60 million in new foreign military sales contracts, as compared to only $1.7 million in FMS contracts last year. Whether inspired by Col. Migaleddi’s statement or through the patience, determination, and professionalism that the Arsenal workforce has shown for more than 200 years, we haven’t been ignored nor will we be in the near future. Nevertheless, although these are different times, we cannot lose momentum now. From machinist to contract specialist, each of you has some impact on the long-term viability of the Arsenal. Please understand that what you do today, will affect the future generations of workers here. I agree with Col. Migaleddi, you are too good to be ignored and so, we should never allow that to happen ever again.

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Page 3 Salvo August 31, 2017

Story continues on page 4, “Readiness”

By John B. Snyder

Airborne Artillerymen assigned to 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division Artillery conduct live fire missions as the sun was rising over Sicily Drop Zone, on Fort Bragg, N.C. Feb. 8, 2016, after their M777A2 155mm towed howitzer was air dropped in the dark of night from a C-17 aircraft . (Capt. Joe Bush, 82nd Airborne Division Artillery/ Released.)

Watervliet receives $28M to leverage new process that

will enhance Soldier, Marine

readiness

The Watervliet Arsenal’s efforts to leverage a newly tested manufacturing process that will improve Soldier and Marine readiness has led to the award of two con-tracts valued in excess of $28 million. The Army contract, which is valued at nearly $15 million, requires the Arsenal to manufacture more than 100 M776 Full-Bore Chrome Tubes for the lightweight 155mm towed-howitzer system, the M777A2. The Ma-rine contract, which is valued at more than $13 million, is very similar to the Army order in that the Arsenal will manufacture more than 100 M776 Full-Bore Chrome Tubes for the same howitzer system. Given the long lead time to procure raw stock mate-riel, the Arsenal will begin delivery of the chrome tubes for the Army and the Marine Corps in 2019 and will complete both orders by 2020. These barrels will greatly improve Soldier and Marine

readiness as the chrome plating may provide a nearly 50 percent increase in the life of the howitzer tubes, while making it easier for artillery troops to perform mainte-nance. The M777 155mm howitzer is a relatively new weapon system having only gone into full-rate produc-tion in 2005 at the Arsenal. The currently fielded howit-zer system’s steel barrel does not have a chrome bore. “This is great news for the Arsenal in that these multi-million-dollar orders will require more than 51,000 hours of direct labor and thousands of more hours of indirect la-bor,” said Tom Pond, the Arsenal’s director of operations. “Given the many years of reduced defense budgets due to sequestration, these contracts are the type of orders that we have been waiting for given that they will exercise

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Page 4 Salvo August 31, 2017

Readiness Cont.Sgt. Brendan Marrocco's (retired) brother, Mike Marrocco, fires 155mm howitzer rounds from an M777 with Task Force Blackjack, Bravo battery, 4-25 FA on Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghani-stan. The gentlemen are part of Feherty's Troops First Foundations' Operation Proper Exit. Operation Proper Exit is for troops that have been injured in battle and provides them the opportunity to make a "proper exit" on their own terms. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Nelia Chappell)

most of the Arsenal’s critical manufacturing skills, while providing our manufacturing center consistent workload for many years.” George Roach, the product manager for these orders, said the significance of these orders far exceeds that of simply providing thousands of hours of direct labor. The orders also represent an approval by the Defense Depart-ment to adopt a relatively new manufacturing process for the 155mm towed system that was developed here by Ar-senal manufacturing experts and by research and design experts from the Army’s Benét Laboratories. “Although chrome plating on weapon systems is not new, what is new is that full-bore chrome barrels for the M777 gun only began testing in 2013,” Roach said. “To date, we have only manufactured 15 full-bore chrome barrels and with these orders, we will now be able to go from prototype development and limited production into full-rate production.” The Marines began testing the chrome tubes in 2016 at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twenty-nine Palms, California, and the results were stunning. According to a May 2016 press report by Lance Cpl. Levi Schultz, 11th Marine Regiment, Marine artillerymen found the chrome tubes easier to clean than steel tubes because the chrome lining tended to shed off residue a lot easier. And, that Marines could fire thousands and thousands of rounds before the tubes would start to show wear. Results exactly what the Arsenal leadership was hoping for. Additionally, Roach said that this year represents the highest dollar volume of contracts for the M777 gun system than he has seen in the 11 years that he has been

managing this program for the arsenal. “So far this year, and we still have one month to go, the Arsenal has received more than $80 million in new orders just for the towed 155mm system from the Army’s Program Manager Towed Artillery Systems,” Roach said. “Given that there are more than 1,000 of these gun systems in the Army and Marine inventory, there is po-tential for the Arsenal to receive more orders for full-bore chrome barrels as these orders only reflect about 20 per-cent of the inventory.” The Watervliet Arsenal is an Army-owned-and-operat-ed manufacturing facility and is the oldest, continuously active arsenal in the United States having begun opera-tions during the War of 1812. The arsenal is a subordinate command to TACOM Life Cycle Management Command and the Army Materiel Command.

According to the Army: The Lightweight 155mm Howitzer System provides direct, reinforcing and general artillery fire support to maneuver forces. The M777A2 is a towed 155mm howitzer jointly developed by the Army and Marine Corps to replace the M198 Howitzer. The extensive use of titanium in all its major structures makes it 7,000 pounds lighter than the M198 with no sacri-fice in range, stability, accuracy or durability. The M777A2’s maximum range is 30 km (rocket assisted round) or up to 40 km with the Excalibur precision-guided munition.

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By John B. Snyder

Story continues on page 6, “MPF”

Collage provided by Program Executive Office, Ground Combat Systems

Historic arsenal taps its history to enhance future Soldier readiness

For more than 200 years, the Arsenal’s workforce has prided itself on its ability to rapidly design, develop, and field the latest weapon technologies in support of the na-tion’s troops. To many, this might imply that the Arsenal is always looking forward for new capability. But they may be wrong. Due to the Arsenal’s depth of personal machining ex-perience and extensive collection of historical weapons records, sometimes the Arsenal’s planners look backward or in today’s example, back at least 25 years in an effort to enhance the future lethality and survivability of U.S. troops. Today, Arsenal production planners and general fore-men are working hard to start a prototype production line for what the Army now calls the Mobile Protected Fire-power, or MPF, gun system. The key, or let’s say the lethal part of this system is the 105mm cannon with complete breech mechanism.

And that is where the Arsenal comes in. In 1992, the Arsenal was visited by a Navy team that was searching to identify the best practices in the defense manufacturing industry. One of the highlights and a best practice identified in the Navy’s report is the XM35 cannon or what today is known as the 105mm gun for the MPF. The Army and Arsenal goals for the XM35 gun in the 1990s were to improve on the M68 gun’s performance on a proposed Armored Gun System by reducing the weight and recoil impulse; improve front gun installation for easier maintenance; and to accommodate an autoloading system that was then under development. Additionally, all modi-fications must ensure that accuracy was not degraded and that all then current 105mm ammunition could be used. The M68 gun system was used on the Army’s M60

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MPF Cont.

tanks and an updated version can be found today on the Stryker’s Mobile Gun System. But according to a 1993 Army War College paper titled, “The Armored Gun System – An Acquisition Streamlin-ing Model for the Army?,” by then Lt. Col. James Wank, the concept for a new armored gun system with the XM35 tube actually dates back to the 1970s. Wank said the Armored Gun System, or AGS, can trace its roots to the development of a Mission Needs Statement in 1981 for a Mobile Protected Gun System or MPGS. Af-ter years of disenchantment with the Army’s 105mm Sheri-dan Gun System in Vietnam, the MPGS was believed to be the right system to replace the Sheridan for infantry and airborne roles. The Sheridan was the only rapidly deploy-able, air-droppable armored combat vehicle in the Army inventory. But, according to Wank, the Sheridan’s performance during the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989 was dubious at best, and that created the energy to quickly field the AGS. Due to this urgent need to put the AGS into Sol-diers’ hands, the Army Acquisition Executive approved the acquisition strategy proposed by the program manager that would have an initial fielding of the system in 1997. Nevertheless, the Pentagon’s leadership killed the AGS program in 1996 and redirected the funding to other pri-orities. In that same year, the Army retired the Sheridan system. And so, what was once one of the Army’s and the Arsenal’s Best Practices was moved off of the Arsenal’s production line and into historical files. The ending of the MPGS and the AGS systems may be due to the consequences of the “tyranny of time.” In essence, the longer a proposed future weapon system languishes between the points for a request for proposal to source selection to low-rate production, the more chal-lenges — such as other funding priorities and loss of po-litical pressure — have time to build that may eventually overcome the program. Fast forward to today, and one would find that Arsenal’s manufacturing leaders well understand that the essence of time is not a friend when it comes to new weapons devel-opment and therefore, are exerting significant energy to rapidly support the proposed MPF gun system. “With the exception of the development of the Bunker Buster Bomb in 1991, there has been no other new weapon system since Vietnam that we have moved toward proto-type development as fast as we are planning for the Mobile Protected Firepower gun system,” said John Zayhowski,

the Arsenal’s chief of manufacturing. “Not only do we know the MPF system is an Army priority today, we also know from our history that time is not on our side.” Zayhowski said that to move the MPF program quickly to prototype development, he tapped into the experiences of well-tenured machinists who are still active on the production floors, as well as to Arsenal retirees who once worked on the AGS program in the 1980s and 1990s. Ryan Scrum, who is the Arsenal’s general foreman for tube production, said that what has been a big help in shav-ing time off of a proposed prototype production schedule is that the 105mm tube is nearly identical to the tube the Arsenal machined for the AGS program in the 1990s. “We pulled the technical data package for the 1990-era AGS program and gathered a team of machining experts here to determine the degree of difficulty in developing the MPF gun,” Scrum said. “What we discovered is that we currently have in production 105mm tubes for the Stryker gun system that are very similar to the proposed MPF gun tube. And so, we already have the processes and the pro-cedures fairly proven out before we begin prototype devel-opment.” In addition to the development of the 105mm tube, there is significant work required in the manufacturing of the breech mechanism that is made up of such parts as the breech block and breech ring. The Arsenal’s part of the MPF gun system involves about 165 unique parts, said Scott Huber, the Arsenal’s general foreman for minor and major components. “What most people may not know that in every gun system there are hundreds of parts that must meet tight ma-chining tolerances that are measured in the hundredths and thousandths of an inch,” Huber said. “But where we (the Arsenal) have a significant advantage in the quick produc-tion of a MPF prototype is that we have extensive experi-ence on our production floors machining similar parts, such as breech rings and blocks, for other weapons programs.“ Another advantage the Arsenal has in the rapid design and production of a prototype for the MPF gun system is that it has retained many of the special tools and fixtures required for this gun system, Huber said. Not only will having these special tools on hand save money, they will also shave time off of prototype development. “One of the great advantages of the Army coming to our Army-owned and operated manufacturing center is that we retain all of the technical data and special tooling for every production line and prototype program that we have had since the Korean War,” Huber said. “We have learned that sometimes our future is tied to our past.” The Arsenal leadership believe they will have the first prototype gun ready for testing within the next 18 months.

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Page 7 Salvo August 31, 2017

Story continues on page 8, "Shutdown”

By John B. Snyder

Photo by John B. Snyder

Checking many of the magnetic lifting devices during the Arsenal's an-nual shutdown were Matthew Briscoe, left; Jordan Selin, center front; and Robert Dobbs. The magnetic devices ranged from palm-size to the size of a small car engine.

I recently checked out the Arsenal during its an-nual shutdown period expecting the doors to be locked and all activity ceased. After all, the Arse-nal’s leadership proclaimed one year ago that the Arsenal would shut down for one week to allow the workforce to take leave during a time that would not impact production. As I started to wander through the production bays during the shutdown, I began to think that I should have taken vacation time, too, as I was cer-tain there would be no stories to be told. Here is what I found in the first building…

Production machines quiet…Check.

Lights turned down…Check.

Rotary forge cooled…Check.

And, just when I had thought that the entire work-force was obeying the commander’s directive to shut down manufacturing, I found selective disobedience. In the Arsenal’s Historic Big Gun Shop, I discov-ered “rare earth." Jason Miller, who is a former machinist and who now is a maintenance machine mechanic, was work-ing with a shutdown team whose main mission that

Some Arsenal activities did not

shut down during the

annual shutdown

Selective Disobedience?

Page 8: Newsletter from the Army's Oldest Operating Arsenal - August 2017

Page 8 Salvo August 31, 2017

Shutdown Cont.

Left: Jason Miller, who is a former machinist and who now is a maintenance machine mechanic, was working with a shutdown team whose main mission during shutdown week was to inspect and certify magnetic lifting devices on the production floors. Right: Kathleen Seeloff performing a quality control inspection on a howitzer tube that had just been chrome plated.

Photos by John B. Snyder

week was to inspect and certify magnetic lifting de-vices on the production floors. These lifting devices, which many are made of a material called rare earth, may range from the size of something that can fit into one’s palm to the size of a car engine. “What is great about the shutdown is that it gives us time to do required annual maintenance and checks,” Miller said. “Additionally, because most of the operations have been shut down, our mainte-nance efforts are plus upped with extra personnel, which gives us an opportunity to achieve all of our maintenance objectives for the week.” In another production building, Steve Koza, who is the crane maintenance supervisor, was directing the heavy maintenance and replacement of crane rails above the production floors. The rails, accord-ing to Koza, wear out after about 25 years of daily use and when they do, the rails can become a safety hazard. The only time to do this type of mainte-nance and complete replacement is when the Arsenal shuts down its manufacturing operations. In another building, lifting slings were being inspected by Jesus Guerra and his team and fluids being replaced in quality control inspection area by Eric Beeles. I also found action in the box shop as

Michael Dworakowski, the senior wood worker, and coworker Patrick O’Brien, were rearranging material to get ready for a surge of new orders. In two other production buildings, I found Kath-leen Seeloff performing a quality control inspection on a howitzer tube that had just been chrome plated and machinist Ken Chirpka and machine tool opera-tor Mike Dorman working on 60mm mortar base-plates. What were they thinking? “Although I love conducting maintenance during the Arsenal’s annual shutdown, I love supporting our troops more,” said Seeloff. And with that, once again the Arsenal workforce proves that it never truly shuts down given its awe-some responsibility of providing the equipment that will help the nation’s troops to safely come home from battle. A responsibility that has been continu-ously honored here for more than 204 years. The annual shutdown, which takes months in planning, allows the Arsenal to perform critical maintenance services and Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA required inspec-tions. Not too many years ago, the Arsenal shudown period lasted two weeks.

More photos on page 12

Page 9: Newsletter from the Army's Oldest Operating Arsenal - August 2017

Most people probably believe that Army weapons re-search and design experts would have a command of the sciences and technologies that may make future weapons systems more lethal on tomorrow’s battlefields. But a me-chanical engineer at the Army’s research and design facility here has a different type of command of the forces that will also impact future battle-fields. Brian Van De Wal, a supervisory engineer with the Army’s Benét Labora-tories, has for more than 20 years helped improve the accuracy and fatigue life of current large caliber weapon systems, from Paladin howitzers to Abrams tanks. Although he leads Benét Laboratories' fatigue and fracture analysis branch, he recently took on an entirely new mission and one that will help shape the Army for generations. “When I enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves in 1992, my goal was to become a sergeant,” Van De Wal said. “I was caught up in the spirit of the First Gulf War and simply wanted to be part of something great. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that one day I would attain the rank of lieutenant colonel, let alone take com-mand of a battalion.” On the historic grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point on July 31, 2017, with the sounds of the West Point Band, Van De Wal assumed command of the 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiment. In a way, this command brings Van De Wall full circle back to the day he began his career in 1992. “My battalion has the responsibility to provide initial registration support and select basic weapons training to cadets at the United States Military Academy,” Van De Wal said. “My battalion is responsible for a lot of military skills training that occurs in the summer between the academic years for all class years.”

Van De Wal’s battalion works with rising senior cadets in their leadership roles with respect to training events the 3-304th battalion conducts. This training consists of orienta-tion to range execution and the programs of instruction of range operations. Once the senior cadets have mastered the operation of the ranges, they are then placed in charge

of cycling the incoming cadets through the ranges, with Van De Wal’s battalion overseeing the range operations. “Many of the basic soldier training tasks here are v e r y similar to what I went through in 1992,”

Van De Wal said. “The biggest differ-ence today is the tremendous respon-sibility placed on me to ensure that all of our training is to standard and

conducted safely for more than a thousand cadets a year. It takes approximately six weeks to cycle the entire incoming freshman class of cadets through our por-

tion of the training.” Van De Wal, who has deployed

to Iraq and to Afghanistan during his military career, said he believes this type of battalion command will make great use of the leadership

skills he has attained through a variety of opportunities the Army Reserves

have afforded him throughout his career. “I have been very fortunate to have

had great opportunities to lead; from be-ing a Company Commander in Iraq, Bri-gade G-4 officer in Afghanistan, Brigade

S-3 Operations officer in peacetime, and now as a Battalion Commander,” Van De Wal said. Van De Wal added that trying to balance

his military career with that of his career at Benét Labo-ratories has had its challenges. But in the end, leadership in both organizations (Reserves and Benét Labs) have ac-commodated his balancing act and because they did, he is able to command a battalion while leading a great group of research engineers at Benét. Van De Wal said he expects to command for the next 24 to 36 months.

Page 9 Salvo August 31, 2017

By John B. Snyder

Research expert takes command of sciences, troops

Brian Van De Wal with son, Brian Jr., and girlfriend Danielle Hilt at the change of command. Photo provided by Brian Van De Wal.

Page 10: Newsletter from the Army's Oldest Operating Arsenal - August 2017

Page 10 Salvo August 31, 2017

Risks are uncertain events that, if they occur, have an impact on project objectives, such as scope, schedule and cost. Uncertainty is present in all projects. It can be managed, but cannot be completely eliminated. Risks are classified as either positive (opportunities) or negative (threats). The below Figure includes the available response strategies for positive and negative risks.

Known risks are the risks that can be identified, analyzed and planned for. Unknown risks are the risks that went unanticipated until they’ve occurred. When a negative unknown risk occurs, it is no longer uncertain. It becomes a threat- a present and very real event that has the potential to drastically alter project performance. Most risk can be linked to project requirements, assumptions, constraints or environmental conditions that create the possibility for uncertain outcomes over the life of a project. Project risk management accounts for all processes used by the project team to conduct risk planning, identification, analysis, response and controlling:

Planning: Describes how risk management activities will be performed. The team shouldn’t move forward until all project stakeholders have agreed to how risk will be managed within the project.

Identification: Reviews project documentation and analytic tools to anticipate and document which risks may occur. Identified risks are added to the project risk register- a repository of risk information.

Analysis: Prioritizes risks by their probability of occurrence and impact on objectives or by comparing the effect of risks on overall project objectives. Analysis data is added to the risk register.

Response: Develops specific and individual actions to enhance opportunities or reduce threats to project objectives. Response plans are added to the risk register.

Controlling: Tracks identified risks, identifies new risks, implements response plans and evaluates risk management effectiveness. An issue register is used to track ongoing issue progress and record resolved issues. There are varying degrees of risk an organization and its stakeholders are willing to accept, which is referred to as “risk attitude.” Driven by perception, bias and tolerances, the attitude towards risk an individual or group adopts will influence how they respond to risk. Risk responses reflect an organization’s balance between risk taking and risk avoidance.

Risk can exist at any point within a project. The most successful organizations conduct risk management activities proactively and regularly throughout the lifecycle of the project. A risk management plan ensures your best chance of avoiding and mitigating project risk.

Lean Corner by Josh O'Leary

Project Risk Management

Page 11: Newsletter from the Army's Oldest Operating Arsenal - August 2017

Page 11 Salvo August 31, 2017

Nothing holds down some of our

Arsenal youthFrom time to time, we like to hear from our family members. Here is a column written for this month's Salvo by Micah

Moore, son of Laurie Vroman.

My mom served in the U.S. Air Force and she has al-ways instilled in me the pride of the military. I knew that when I grew up, that I too wanted to serve my country. My mom’s friend, Ronald Ascher, told my mom about the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), and that I should sit in on a meet-ing.

You are supposed to sit in on at least three meetings before you join because it is a minimum one-year com-mitment to the program. I didn’t need three meetings. Even though I am just 12-years-old, I knew this is what I wanted to do because I will be doing something for a greater cause than myself.

CAP is a volunteer organization that is considered to be the Air Force Auxiliary. It is for kids ages 12-19 in-terested in aerospace education, emergency search and rescue, and community service (my favorite). As a CAP member, I get to fly in a CAP Cessna airplane, as well as to learn how to fly. After attaining five powered-flights and five glider-flights, I then can apply for a CAP scholar-ship so that I can get my pilot’s license for free.

I already went on my first powered-flight, at which time I flew from Scotia to the Glens Falls area. I had the chance to talk to the pilot, see him handle the plane, use the radio, monitor the gauges, and I even had the chance to fly the plane myself for about 45 minutes, which was the highlight of my day. I have also participated in Honor Guard/Color Guard training so that if there are

any change of commands or other important events, I can carry or guard the American Flag.

This month, I spent two days at Scotia Air National Guard base and participated in their mass causality ex-ercise. I also had the opportunity to fly on the back of a C130 all the way to Massachusetts on a litter as part of the exercise.

More recently, I attended an Emergency Services Bivouac, where I spent three days living in the woods training to be a part of ground search team. A ground team consists of qualified cadets who conduct searches for missing people. I learned land navigation, electronic direction finding, basic survival and field craft, and basic radio techniques. I have additional tests to complete on-line and then I will be part of the ground team as soon as my commander signs off.

CAP is more than flying, it also teaches about rocket building, remote controlled airplanes, and space flight. There are unlimited opportunities for anyone who choos-es to join. CAP has a rank structure like the Air Force and my goal is to earn the Mitchell Award (rank of Sec-ond Lieutenant) and continue on to earn the Spaatz Award (rank of Colonel) prior to joining the Air Force. Only 15 percent of cadets earn the Mitchell Award and 1.5 percent earn the Spaatz Award. As long as I accomplish my goals and stick with the program, I can actually start out at a higher rank in the Air Force for completing the program.

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Annual Shutdown WeekYes, a time when we don't shut down

Photos by John B. Snyder