There were two area mission bases established; one in Northern and Southern California and an Area Command base in Bakersfield. According to Capt. Charles Christian, CAP, the area commander for this training mission, close to 200 members, 15 aircraft, and 17 corporate vehicles participated in this mission; with over 50 air sorties flown throughout the weekend!
Several members of Squadron 150 took part in the WLE, including Deputy Commander Capt. David Powell, 1st Lt Michael Wetsman and 2d Lt Rommel Anacan.
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| CAP aircraft on the flight line at Gillespie Field (Photo Credit: 2d Lt Rommel Anacan) |
WLE training missions included:
- Taking airborne pictures and conducting visual reconnaissance for FEMA
- Conducting visual search for a downed Cessna 182 based on cell phone forensics
- Searching for the location of an activated emergency beacon
- Urban Directional Finding (UDF) ground-based tasking
There was even a real emergency locator transmitter (ELT) that was detected by CAP members during the WLE. The ELT was located and silenced.
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| (Photo Credit 2d Lt Rommel Anacan) |
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| (Photo Credit 2d Lt Rommel Anacan) |
The WLE not only gave our squadron members with valuable training opportunities, it also provided members with time to connect with our fellow CAP members from other squadrons and to build friendships that are an often overlooked benefit of being a CAP member.
