The Operations Plan for this activity is attached to this posting. All Cadets interested in attending must review this document.

(5/7/2013 11:00pm Update: the Ops Plan document has been revised to correct errors and to include a packing list in Attachment A. Please discard any previous copies of this document and download the latest one using the link provided at the end of this posting.)

There are openings available for both Cadet and Senior staff members. Please check the Ops Plan or contact us for more information on available positions.

(click on “Read more” to display the list of attached documents)

High Speed/ALS Document (left-click on the document name to display it on screen, or right-click on it to download to your computer)

• Operations Plan

(Note: this document is in PDF format. If you do not have the free Adobe Reader program on your computer, it can be downloaded from the Adobe website at www.adobe.com)

Named in honor of the famed woman aviator and pioneer who achieved many aviation firsts before her disappearance while attempting to circumnavigate the world, the Amelia Earhart Award is the third milestone in the CAP Cadet Program, and is awarded to cadets who have completed 11 of the 16 achievements in the program. Less than 3 percent of all cadets nationwide receive this award.

(L-R) Cadet Captain Mollianne Flood, Amelia Earhart Award recipient; Grayson County Judge Drue Bynum (click on photo for larger image)

Cadet Flood has been a member of CAP since 2008, and has served as the Cadet Commander for the squadron since August 2012.

On hand to present the award was Grayson County Judge Drue Bynum, himself a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a former U.S. Army officer.

In remarks following the presentation, Judge Bynum praised the Cadets for choosing to participate in the Cadet Program. “I think what you’re doing is different from most kids. Anything we can do to surround ourselves with other people who are trying to help us build leadership, character, integrity, honesty, and work ethic, that’s a good thing. In this age and time, especially as young people, that’s a great thing for you. This program can add a lot of good things to your life.”

In closing, he further challenged the cadets. “Appreciate and understand what this program has to offer, learn from it, and continue down the path you’re on. I appreciate what you’re doing, and I can tell you that you’re going to make Grayson County a better place to live because of what you’re doing today.”

(L-R) Lt. Col. Jeff Harrell, Squadron Commander; Cadet Captain Mollianne Flood, Amelia Earhart Award recipient; Grayson County Judge Drue Bynum (click on photo for larger image)

On Monday, April 15^th, our cadets met with the Liberty Jump Team, a team of paratroopers who reenact World War II jumps performed by the US Army. The cadets were allowed to try on real parachute gear and even experienced a life-like experience on a parachute simulator as provided by the Liberty Jump Team. The team showed cadets all about landing after a jump and how parachutes are deployed during real jumps. All members of the Liberty Jump Team are retired military and came from all over the U.S. from every military branch.

A member of the Liberty Jump Team shows cadets how to land safely.

Cadet Luke Blythe experiences hanging in a parachute harness.

• We do not expect to have a CAP aircraft available for visitors to tour.
• Because our Cadets are having another event at the squadron building the following weekend (May 17th-19th), we will be scheduling only a limited number of outdoor activities. But, weather permitting, we will have model rocket flights this time!

Members will be on hand throughout the day to provide tours of the building, explain who CAP is and what we do, and to answer questions.

We are extending a special invitation to former CAP members (regardless of where they may have served, or whether they served as a Cadet or a Senior member) to stop in and visit. In addition to showing them what CAP does today, each CAP “veteran” will receive a special certificate in recognition of their prior service.

More information will be posted as we get closer to the event.

Liberty Jump Team is an organization that honors all veterans by performing commemorative parachute jumps. They have performed jumps both locally (at the Eisenhower birthday celebrations in Denison) as well as across the country and in Europe (they have performed many jumps over the years to commemmorate the D-Day invasion of Normandy in World War II). They primarily jump from World War II-era C-47 “Dakota” troop transports using the same style of military parachutes of the day, and typically dress in period uniforms.

The team will give the squadron members a presentation on who they are and what they do, and demonstrate various aspects of preparing for a jump. It promises to be a very informative look into “how things were done” in those war years.

All squadron members are encouraged to be on hand (and on time) so as not to miss out on this exciting opportunity.

Capt. Charles Giarraputo

The following message was sent to all of our squadron members today:

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Capt. Charles Giarraputo on Friday. Charles has been a member of TX-262 and Civil Air Patrol since 2003 and was currently serving as the Squadron Historian.

Information I have is that the funeral will be Tuesday at 2:00 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Sherman.

I will pass along further information as it becomes available.

Jeff Harrell, Lt. Col., CAP
Texoma Composite Squadron

 UPDATE February 3rd – Obituary printed in the Sherman Herald-Democrat:

Charles Paul Giarraputo, 89, passed away on Thursday, January 31, at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital-WNJ in Sherman, Texas following a brief illness. He was born on May 27, 1923 in Denison, Texas to Anthony Giarraputo and Nancy Bruno Giarraputo.

Charlie grew up in Denison, Texas, the youngest of 10 children in his family. He graduated from Denison High School in 1941. He served in the United States Army Air Corps from December 1942 through February 1946, graduating from the Rankin Aeronautical Academy in Tulare, California as an aviation cadet in 1944 and became a pilot. Flying became a lifelong love of Charlie’s.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Austin College in 1950. He was the Real Property Officer at Perrin Air Force Base from 1960 to 1970 and at Sheppard Air Force Base from 1970 to 1972. From 1972 to 1973, he was an appraiser for North American Revaluation Company. Charlie worked as a county appraiser for Grayson County from 1974 and was certified by the State of Texas as a Registered Professional Appraiser in 1979. He joined the Grayson County Appraisal District when is was formed in 1981 retiring as Director of Administration in 1993, even though he returned when asked to help out, and “retired” at least three more times.

Charlie was a faithful member of St. Mary’s Parish. He was also a Captain in the Civil Air Patrol, and a charter member at the Perrin Air Force Base Museum. He was passionate about all types of music, from Big Band, to Jazz, to Western Swing, and played keyboard, drums and saxophone in some Western Swing bands, including “The Texans” that regularly appeared on a local live television program in the 1960′s. He played at the Pacesetters Ballroom in Madill, Oklahoma, and weekly at the SNAP Center in Denison for several years. He was also an avid sportsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing.

When Charlie was attending Austin College he met the love of his life, Fredia Lee Wilson. Charlie and Fredia Lee were married in 1950 in Sherman, Texas in her mother’s home, and were happily married for 46 years, until Fredia Lee’s death. Charlie was always generous and tried to help people however he could. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, uncle, mentor and role model to many people and will be greatly missed.

Charlie was preceded in death by his parents, Anthony and Nancy Giarraputo; his wife, Fredia Lee Giarraputo; brothers: Louis Giarraputo, Russell Giarraputo, Steve Giarraputo, Leonard Giarraputo, and Anthony Giarraputo Jr. and sisters: Angelina Maranto, Mary Giarraputo, Jeannine Tantillo, and Leannine Debner. He was also preceded by a granddaughter, Cassandra Scott, DVM.

Charlie is survived by his children, Jeannette Scott and her husband George, of Sherman, Tony Giarraputo and his wife Norma, of Sherman and Carol Butler and her husband Greg, of Denison. His grandchildren are Christopher Scott and his wife Jami, of Haslet, Texas; Kyle Butler, and Lauralee Butler of Denison, Texas. Charlie is also survived by a sister-in-law, Frances Bailey and husband Kenneth. Charlie has numerous nieces and nephews who were all special to him.

Rosary will be held at Dannel Funeral Home, 302 S. Walnut, in Sherman, Texas at 6 p.m., on Monday, February 4. The family will be greeting friends and relatives following the Rosary. Mass of the Christian burial will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Catholic Church at 2 p.m., Tuesday, February 5 with Father Jeremy Myers officiating. Burial will follow at Cedarlawn Memorial Park, 5805 Texoma Parkway, Sherman, Texas. Pallbearers will be Dennis Francis, Daniel Crow, Johnny Todd, Jerry Jones, Don Booth, Lynn Mitchusson, Greg Krueger, and Charles Hollingsworth. Honary pallbearers will be members of the Perrin Air Force Base Museum.

If desired, memorial donations may be made to the Perrin Air Force Base Museum, 436 McCollum Ave., Denison, TX 75020 or the Cassandra Scott Scholarship fund at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine (checks payable to the Texas A&M Foundation with “Cassandra Scott Scholarship” included on the memo line). Checks/donations should be mailed to: College of Veterinary Medicine, Office of the Dean, 4461 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4461.

The purpose of a SAREX is to provide training for all CAP members (Cadets and Seniors) working in Emergency Services (ES) roles. During the exercise, a series of simulated “events” are staged, allowing members to take the training they have received in various ES roles (or “specialties”) and put it to use in as realistic an environment as possible. This serves three purposes:

• Members who already rated in an ES specialty can participate to practice and stay “fresh” in their training.
• Members who are new to Emergency Services and/or have been training for an ES specialty must have their training evaluated before they can be rated in that specialty and allowed to participate on missions without an instructor’s supervision. This is done through participation in mission “sorties” that allow members to demonstrate and be evaluated on their understanding of the skills required for that specialty.
• Many ES ratings are valid for three years, and require reevaluation before they expire so the rating will remain active. If a member’s rating expires, he/she cannot participate in missions requiring that specialty until they are evaluated again and the rating made active.

Members may be rated in more than one specialty, and it is not unusual for a member to be evaluated for multiple specialties during the same SAREX. This allows them to participate in a variety of future missions depending on resource needs.

Each group conducts 3-4 SAREXs per year. Because they are held in different locations, it is common to see members from other squadrons within the group and even from other groups attending.

There is still much work to be done before February 15, but we are very excited to be the host for this event and look forward to showcasing our facility and its new abilities for our visiting members.

While many of the training activities will be focused on the major field tasks for the Ground Team and Urban Direction Finding Team specialties, there will also be training and evaluations for the ICUT course (Introductory Communications User Training), as well as General Emergency Services (GES) and FEMA courses such as IS-100.

All squadron members are encouraged to attend the training. More information will be e-mailed directly to members in advance of the 26th.

New Photo Albums Online!

The Photos page of the website worked properly when the site first went online in July 2011, but over the course of several months problems with using the photo album application increased, and all work on it had stopped early in 2012. Attempts to resolve the problems failed, and the decision was made in late November to replace the application. After several weeks of preparation, the old photos were placed into their new albums, and more albums were created for the photos that had not yet been uploaded.

The Photos page now contains albums for every major event that was photographed since this site was created. The only events that are not yet covered are Cadet and Senior promotions (except for “milestone” awards such as the Mitchell and Earhart awards, which involved special presentations with guest speakers). Because promotions can occur every month, creating individual albums for each of them would make the page very difficult to use. A solution is being developed and should be ready soon.

In the meantime, enjoy looking through the new albums…and Happy New Year!

On Saturday, December 15th, the squadron hosted the 2012 Wreaths Across America Remembrance Ceremony at Cedarlawn Memorial Park in Sherman.

Activities began at 8:30am, with members assembling at the squadron building to load cartons containing 200 wreaths and other equipment into vehicles for the trip to Cedarlawn. Upon arriving at the cemetery everyone moved into action, performing their assigned tasks with both enthusiasm and reverence, always mindful of the ceremony’s purpose.

While the Color Guard practiced, the remainder of the squadron set about the tasks of placing wreaths on graves and preparing the area for the ceremony.

Placing a wreath is a solemn process – the wreath is gently placed in front of the grave marker, then a step is taken back, a snap to attention, and a salute is rendered. Repeated 200 times without fail, each wreath and its veteran received the same honors.

As the morning progressed toward the ceremony’s start time, the weather became a concern. Although the skies were clear a moderate wind continued to blow, threatening to knock over anything that wasn’t tied down. The decision was made to have the Color Guard stay after posting the colors to hold the flagpoles steady in their stands; in addition, Cadets were stationed at each of the stands for the ceremonial wreaths to prevent them from being blown over. In addition to ensuring nothing would fall, the presence of so many Cadets resulted in a very impressive display.

The ceremony began promptly at 11am with an opening statement by Lt. Col. Harrell and the posting of the colors. Following the Pledge of Allegiance and an invocation by Chaplain Sholl, the placing of ceremonial wreaths began. There were seven in all, six for the branches of service (Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marines) and one representing over 90,000 soldiers who were last listed as prisoners of war or missing in action and have never returned home.

Following the ceremonial wreaths came an addition to this year’s ceremony. Two Cadets – C/AB Michael Brazie and C/1Lt Mollie Flood – performed readings from the writings of soldiers from years past. Cadet Brazie read a passage from the chaplain of a ship as it was returning home at the end of World War II, reflecting on the service and sacrifices of the men on board during the many months of fighting at sea. Cadet Flood then read a poem that had been written by a soldier while he was imprisoned in a North Vietnamese POW camp which he recited daily to keep his spirits up.

After closing remarks and retiring of the colors, the ceremony was ended. Squadron members approached veterans in attendance to shake hands and give out thank-you cards in recognition of their service.

Several of the veterans attending the ceremony stepped forward to ask why there were no wreaths on the majority of the graves. As Lt. Col. Harrell explained to one individual, “Wreaths are sponsored by the public – by individuals, families, and businesses. The more local sponsorships that are purchased, the more wreaths we receive. Our goal is to be able to place a wreath on every veteran’s grave in Cedarlawn, but with only 200 sponsored each of the last two years we still have a long way to go.”

But, regardless of whether we receive 200, 2000, or only 2 wreaths, this squadron and everyone else in Civil Air Patrol will always honor and respect all of our veterans and their families, both for their service and their sacrifices to protect the freedoms we all too often take for granted.