Mount Rainier Squadron - Oct 2011

8/2/2019 Mount Rainier Squadron - Oct 2011

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The Vigilance

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Official Newsletter of Mount Rainier Composite Squadron

By 2d Lt Bynum, P.A.O.

R OY -- Mount Rainier Composite

Squadron was on hand for the an-

nual Wilcox Farms’ June Jubilee

and Antique Tractor Pull. Held at

the Wilcox Chicken Farm, the all-

day event features antique tractors

and fire engines, historical Wilcox

antiques, great food, and much

more! About six senior members

and eight cadets volunteered their

time between 24-26 June 2011. In

appreciation, Wilcox Farms donated

funds towards the squadron’s flightscholarship. Mt Rainier CS would

like to thank Wilcox Farms for this

opportunity of community service,

its generous donation, and ongoing

support of our squadron.

The tractor pull and jubilee is

put on annually by Wilcox Farms in

association with The Rainier An-

tique Tractor Club. Dozens of well

preserved antique tractors were on

display and competed in the pull.

Also on hand were several old

fire trucks of various vintage, in-

cluding an 1898 American Fire En-

gine Steam Pump, which originally

served in the San Francisco Fire

Department until 1909 and was fea-

tured in the film “Hello, Dolly!” An

older yellow fire truck from South

Pierce County Fire & Rescue, liter-

ally down the road, was on handwith several fire fighting cadets to

operate the classic steam pump.

Miniature steam engines, small

tractor rides for kids, hay rides, and

a dozen classic vehicles completed

the attractions. The Wilcox property

also featured an original one room

school house, chicken coop, and

garage, the former filled with scores

of memorabilia and antiques.

Cadets and seniors arrived in

the early evening and were tasked

with setting up the squadron’s sur-

plus military tents for the cadets to

use over the weekend. This was

made more difficult by a lack of

experience in raising such equip-

ment and from a shortage of lock-

ing pins used to secure the erected

structure. To overcome this obsta-

cle, cadets commandeered the pins

of the second tent. Compensating

for this loss, the seniors donated a

smaller civilian tent for the female

cadets attending.

Thankfully, more experienced

cadets and seniors were on hand to

guide the novice tent pitchers and

successfully accomplish their goal

It was a valuable lesson on knowing

the state of... cont. on page 2

Service & Fun at Wilcox Farms

Commander Jonquiere enjoys a moment with the Wilcox Chicken.

Courtesy R.W. Bynum



Summer Quarter 2011 Promotions

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EPHRATA -- The Washington Wing

of the Civil Air Patrol held its an-

nual Desert Eagle Flight Encamp-

ment VIII at the Camp Boucher

CAP facility from 20 July to 31

July 2011.

Mt Rainier Composite Squad-

ron was privileged to be repre-

sented by five of its cadets: C/SSgt

Nathan “Tail End” Hutchison, C/

SrA Alex Dyachkin, C/SrA Benja-

min Hayter, C/SMSgt Thomas

“Slim Shady” Lenell, and C/SMSgt

Nathan “The Mouth” Rojas. Thequoted names refer to the cadet’s

call signs, a unique identifying

nickname given them that reflect

the personality traits of each cadet.

Cadet Hutchison was a member

of the Advanced Glider Alpha

Flight; Cadet Dyachkin was in the

Basic Glider Bravo Flight while

Cadets Hayter and Lenell were in

Charlie Flight; and Cadet Rojasflew in the Powered Echo Flight.

Mt Rainier CS is proud of its at-

tending cadets and applauds their

efforts, dedication, and achieve-

ments in this encampment.

Mt Rainier CS was also repre-

sented by two senior members,

Captain Eddie Rojas as Tow Plane

Pilot and 2d Lt Scott Hayter as a

senior staffer. Major Mike Talley

acted as the Encampment Com-

mander and C/Captain Walen “Ab-

sent” Moreno acted as its Cadet

Commander. In total, seventeen

seniors and nine cadets volunteered

their time to run the encampment,

in which twenty-six cadet studentsworked through the program.

Student of a flight encampment

get hours of experience in the air,

about nine hours of flight training

for airplane students, about twenty-

five ground tows and five aero-tows

for basic glider students, and about

fifteen aero-tows for advanced

glider students. In addition, the stu-

dents get hours of classes andhands-on learning about the dynam-

ics and physics of flight, the me-

chanics and operation of their ma-

chines, and ground training nuts

and bolts.

Slots for this remarkable educa-

tional and inspirational program are

limited and competition to become

a student is considerable. Besides

the expense fees, cadets must first

complete the second achievement

of the Cadet Program, the Genera

Arnold (the fourth achievement for

Powered students, the Captain

Rickenbacker). They also complete

a Class A Encampment and submit

an essay describing the their avia-tion goals and reasons for wanting

to attend the encampment, as wel

as several other requirements.

To find out more on how cadets

can pre pare for the next flight en-

campment, please contact your su-

perior. Further information, includ

ing for those who want to volunteer

their time as staff, please visit the

Desert Eagle’s website at:https://sites.google.com/site/wawgd

eserteagle/


Cadets at Flight Encampment

Cadet:!! ! ! New Rank:! Date:

John W. Cheung! ! C/Amn! 11 Jun

Stuart M. Emery ! ! C/MSgt! 22 Aug

Benjamin S. Hayter! ! C/SSgt! 06 Jun

Casey M. Hunter! !

C/A1C!

22 AugBenjamin Lam! ! C/MSgt! 20 Aug

Zachary Lam!! ! C/MSgt! 01 Aug

Thomas M. Lenell! ! C/CMSgt! 01 Aug

Derek T. Pegram! ! C/Amn! 13 Jun

Josiah Pollock! ! C/SSgt! 20 Jun

Madelin N. Potter! ! C/A1C ! 06 Sept

Conner W. Roland! ! C/Amn! 20 Jul

Senior:! ! ! New Rank:! Date:

Martin S. Jonquiere!! 1st Lt! ! 01 Jul

Promotions are an important part of the cadet and

senior programs. They not only help to advanceyour CAP achievements, but build yourself into abetter person. If you have problems reaching yournext rank, or questions on a specialty track, feefree to contact your superior for assistance.

Summer is over. For those returning from an ex-tended absence, welcome back! Your next rank iswaiting, and achieving it is easier than you think.

https://sites.google.com/site/wawgdeserteagle/








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Is Faith Really Important

! According to people who live by faith, it affectseverything they think, say and do. Others, how-ever, see faith as a crutch for those too weak tohandle their own problems.

! As a chaplain and pastor I encounter peopleof both persuasions all the time. I accept them asthey are, not as I wish they were. I do wish, how-

ever, for those who question faith, that they wouldexperience it for themselves.

! The Bible says to all of mankind, “Taste andsee that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8) I believethat’s sound advice.

! I remember when I was little that I didn’t wantto eat fresh strawberries. The problem was that Ihad never tasted one.

! I loved my mom’s homemade strawberry jam,but I was suspicious of those funny looking ber-ries. My mother kept telling me, “Try it. You’ll likeit,” but I kept resisting.

! One day she persuaded me to taste one. It

was big and fat and juicy red — delicious! Now Ican’t get enough.

! It’s that way with God. “Taste and see thatthe Lord is good.” You might find that he’s betterthan you imagined.

Chaplain’s CornerThe Quarterly Thoughts of 2d Lt Eric Turner

cont. from page 1 ...your equipment

before deployment, and how to

overcome obstacles in a timely and

effective manner. A review of our

equipment has since been proposed

to prevent similar occurrences.

Over the two nights, cadets or-

ganized fire watches to secure the

camp site. They created and imple-

mented patrols in scheduled, paired

intervals to assured the safety of

their fellow cadets. They also pa-

trolled the larger event grounds,

where many vehicles and other

campers, primarily owners and par-

ticipants, camped nearby. They

conducted themselves vigilantlyduring their patrols, as witnessed by

2d Lt Bynum, who accompanied

the first watch.

On the event day, the cadets and

seniors ate a hardy breakfast gener-

ously provided by Wilcox Farms.

All agreed it was one of the best

meals anyone had, especially the

eggs and omelets, which featured

the farm’s liquid egg product. After

this, the cadets corrected and edited

the event brochures on short notice

before deploying to their primary

assignment.

The main task for Mt Rainier

CS was the directing of traffic to

various parking zones. Cadets an-

swered questions, directed histori-

cal cars and antique tractors to their

designated areas, and motioned the

visiting public to parking stalls and

onsite shuttles. They also passed

out event brochures and informed

those who inquired about the Civil

Air Patrol and its missions. A very

filling lunch was provided, along

with superb free omelet samples.

The event went smoothly and

was by all accounts a rousing suc-

cess. Cadets spent the next night on

the property before disassembling

their tents the next day and depart-

ing. The cadets proved themselves by working diligently while sti

having fun. Mt Rainer CS looks

forwards to working with Wilcox

Farms in the future and remains

ever grateful for their past, present

and future support.


Your Feedback Counts!

As editor of The Vigilance, I

am always looking for new

ideas to improve the quality

and content of this newslet-

ter. If you have any sugges-tions, comments, questions,

or concerns, please contact

me via e-mail at:

[email protected]

-2d Lt Bynum, Editor

Historic Flights:

On 21 September 1942, the B-29 Superfor-tress made its inaugural flight over Seattle,from Boeing Field. General Harry “Hap”

Arnold envisioned the bomber in 1939 andBoeing got the contact. The plane requiredfour main-assembly factories nationwide todesign it. The famed Enola Gay is a B-29.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



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SOUTH HILL -- For a squadron that

has lacked a stationed Civil Air Pa-

trol aircraft of late, Mount Rainier

Composite Squadron has been veryactive in the skies. The transfer of

beloved “00Z” (pronounced

“ooze”) to another squadron was a

difficult transition but the squadron

endured and quickly acquired a re-

placement. With the crash of this

aircraft in March and its own-going

investigation, acquiring yet another

squadron plane remains uncertain.

True to its flying heritage andspirit, Mt Rainier CS has refused to

let these changes keep it grounded.

Since March, seniors and cadets

alike have had over a dozen days of

glider and powered orientation

flight opportunities.

Former Commander Captain

Eddie Rojas, along with others fromvarious Washington squadrons have

worked hard to get as many flight

hours in for the cadets as possible.

From the squadron-centric O-Rides

in “00Z” over Thun Field to multi-

squadron glider days at Chehalis-

Centralia Airport, Mt Rainier CS is

taking full advantage of the Puget

Sound region’s great flying season.

In addition, five of its cadetsattended the Desert Eagle Flight

Encampment VIII this year. (See

“Cadets at Flight Encampment” ar-

ticle, Page 2). Cadet Hutchison so-

loed in his glider during encamp-

ment and Cadet Hayter followed

him in mid-September. The remain-

ing cadets are quickly catching up.

Though the season is wrapping

up, Mt Rainier CS will strive to getin as many flight days as possible.

The squadron hopes through its

continuing endeavors that another

CAP aircraft will find a permanent

home at Thun Field, Pierce County

Airport. Regardless of what the fu-

ture brings, Mt Rainier CS will al-

ways being looking up and ready totake to the skies.

Watch your email for future

flight opportunities and be sure to

have your qualifications in order.Courtesy E.F. Rojas

The Vigilance

Contributors

2d Lt R.W. Bynum: Editor,

Writer & Photographer;

1 photographs, 4 articles

2d Lt E.B. Turner: Resident

Columnist; 1 article

Capt E.F. Rojas:

3 photographs

Cadet Pollock flying “00Z” southward.

W.A.A. Coming Soon!Wreaths Across America is an

annual memorial started in 1992 to

remember those who have served

the United States by laying wreaths

at national cemeteries countrywide.

The Civil Air Patrol has again part-

nered with the WAA organization to

collect wreath donations this year.

By sponsoring a wreath though

the squadron, a portion of your do-

nation will benefit Mt Rainier CS.

We have two big donation drives at

Joint Base Lewis-McChord every

year, but you can donate today and

at any time through late November!

A wreath only costs $15.00. Our

goal is to lay as many as possible in

Tahoma National Cemetery for the

holidays. The laying ceremony wil

be held on 10 December 2011.

For more information on dates

donations, and volunteering, please

contact 2d Lt Eric Turner, Mt Rain-

ier CS Chaplain.

Mt Rainier CS Stays Airborne

Courtesy E.F. Rojas

Cadet Hayter shaking with Capt Rojas.

Courtesy E.F. Rojas

Cadet Roland confidently at the wheel.

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Mount Rainier Squadron - Oct 2011