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Martin and Towson squadrons work “Sailabration” flightline

Group photo in front of helicopter
Civil Air Patrol Maryland Wing members pose in front of PHI Air Medical helicopter during the recent Sailabration event at Martin State Airport. (Photo credit: Bruce VanHoy, Flight Paramedic, PHI AirMedical)

Event featured the Blue Angels demonstration team

By Cadet 1st Lt. Joseph A. Mancini, CAP
Cadet Executive Officer, Glenn L. Martin Composite Squadron

7/14/2012–Middle River, MD–Over thirty cadets and senior officers from the Glenn L. Martin Composite Squadron, as well as members from Towson Composite Squadron, were in full force for the Star Spangled Sailabration staging and display area at Martin State Airport. The two-day activity was in conjunction with a special Blue Angels air show that took place over the Baltimore Inner Harbor on June 16th and 17th, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.

The squadrons were hard at work performing flight line security and had CAP’s G1000 Cessna 182 on static display for the crowd. In addition to all of the tasks Civil Air Patrol was issued, a recruiting booth was also set up in the festival area. Airport management was very pleased with CAP’s flexibility and responsiveness for the air show. A special detail of cadets performed flight line marshalling for the PHI Air Medical Group’s helicopter. Flight paramedic Bruce Vanhoy, who fly’s on Express Care 1, was appreciative of the work CAP did to ensure safety around there helicopter when they received a med-evac call.

CAP monitored the flight line barricades, and answered questions from the 5,000 visitors to the airport throughout the weekend. After the Blue Angels finished their routine and landed back at Martin State, the cadets were escorts for the pilots as they signed autographs for the crowd.

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 61,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 54 lives in fiscal year 2011. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to nearly 27,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. CAP received the World Peace Prize in 2011 and has been performing missions for America for 70 years. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com or www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.

Nearly 1,600 members of CAP serve in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 29 search and rescue missions and were credited with 13 finds saving three lives. Maryland Wing flew over 160 missions for the State of Maryland resulting in 2,222 hours flown. Volunteers contributed services estimated at $4.2 million. For more information contact the Maryland Wing at www.mdcap.org.

The Glenn L Martin Composite Squadron meets every Thursday at Martin State Airport, Suite 411, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.