DAY 1: Arrival Day. Ahh! The great outdoors, what better place to spend your Christmas vacation than the beach. If you desire open-air sleeping quarters, quick and hearty cuisine, and a pension for adventure, you missed an opportunity to attend the Texas Wing Ground Training School held in Brownsville, Texas between 26 and 31 December 2008. The training included most if not all aspects of all ground team-associated tasks, and began immediately upon our arrival at the school. Students learned use of Electronic Locator receiver equipment and were rewarded with locating an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) shortly thereafter. The team located the EPIRB on one of the docks in the Port Brownsville shrimp boat marina. The owner thought the EPIRB was no longer able to function, but a slight signal was being transmitted. Our training continued upon return to the TX-091 squadron, which consisted of setting up shelter halves to prepare a place to stay for the evening, erecting two "general" shelters to use for mess and instruction, and learning our pace count over a 100-meter course. All this and the day wasn't even over, yet. The instructors also had the various teams perform an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) exercise within our five-acre playground after a wonderful supper of hot dogs. "Lights out" was finally called at 2230 hours, but many were still erecting their shelter halves.

DAY 2: Training Day 1. "OOOOOOOO SIX HUNDRED HOURS" and everyone is up and at 'em. The cadets did their normal morning Physical Fitness activity along with their run, and returned to camp at 0640 hours. Everyone knocked down their shelter halves in anticipation the mower would soon arrive. It did, just in time for everyone to eat some breakfast of biscuits and gravy, bananas, oranges, apples, and power bars, along with hot chocolate and orange juice, and yes, seniors even managed a cup of hot coffee. The TX-091 support team did a great job of getting the camp put together enough to get the mess tent operational. Following breakfast, some of the teams deployed to learn and execute line search, keeping a log, compass use, orienting a map to a compass, carrying a stretcher, and tying knots. The remaining teams were allowed to rebuild their shelter halves, with a much more structured setup. All tents from each team were placed in separate rows with the front pole of each tent in line with the other tents in the row. Looked just like those WWII pictures of base camps in the forests of Europe. Around lunchtime, the teams swapped and those who rebuilt their shelter halves in the morning deployed to learn the tasks and those deploying in the morning rebuilt their shelter halves. After all the teams had recovered to the base camp area, the TX-091 staff served supper. Following supper, all four teams were marched to a location approximately 1.5 miles distant and were instructed in using a signal mirror and in ELT nighttime search. The teams successfully completed the exercises and return marched to base camp for "Lights Out" at 2230 hours.

DAY 3: Training Day 2. "Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day." Yes, we were the lucky recipients of a short rainfall during the night. Not enough to make it miserable, but enough to make the temperature decide it wasn't going to get very high throughout the day. With the humidity, it was somewhat cool. The weather didn't dampen the spirits of the training teams, as following breakfast, two of the teams deployed to do navigation courses established near the base camp, line searches, and ELT exercises, while two of the teams moved to TX-091's squadron to receive training in accomplishing the associated forms, then on to the TX-091 computer lab to complete IS-700. Trainees were instructed in using the computer and all completed IS-700, along with entering their training in eServices. Following the computer training, one team deployed in the van for a ramp search while the other team performed communications room duties. The teams switched positions and upon accomplishing the task of ramp search, both teams recovered at the base camp and enjoyed lunch. The teams then exchanged training places and accomplished their afternoon training. As one set of teams recovered at the base camp before supper, they found the other teams had deployed with the van to a location approximately 30 minutes distant from the base camp. Finally, the van returned and picked up the second set of teams for the trip to the new training location. During the ride, our driver informed us of a situation involving a missing aircraft and pilot. Our job would be to ensure no one entered the area without authorization, and ensure that the media was directed to the proper personnel. As darkness overtook the scene, many of the trainees began to question the validity of the training scenario, many of them unsure this wasn't the "real deal." Finally, the instructor called one team at a time and worked through a scenario of locating an ELT, performing a line search for wreckage, analyzing the information and determining a hasty search location. All this resulted in a "find" of an aircraft fuselage in a ravine, with a TX-091 member inside participating as our "client." Each team was required to perform the proper procedures upon locating the wreckage and the "client", and the instructors monitored and mentored as the training went. Needless to say, the "client" lived, while it may not have been due to the efforts of some of the teams. This definitely pointed out just how important our training is, and identified shortcomings of teams for additional work. All teams recovered at the base camp and supper was served around 2330 hours. Nobody had to call "Lights Out" for this day's training.

DAY 4: Training Day 3. "Leaving is such sweet sorrow." - except when you are leaving the inland grassland of the training area for the beach. Or so we thought! After the 0700 hours wakeup, we broke camp, tore down our mess and training shelters, cleaned up the area, packed the trailer, loaded our gear onto trucks, and moved to South Padre Island, gate area 5. The white dunes stood out to our left as we moved north along the beach searching for the best location for our new camp. Eventually, we came to area 13 and began the process of resetting our base camp. All trainees were allowed "free rein" to build their shelter, some very simple and some more sophisticated. Some took less than an hour, some were never really completed. About noon, we once again enjoyed a meal prepared by the TX-091 staff, but this time it was the commander and his deputy doing the cooking. After lunch, we again broke into our teams and did a line search and recover exercise over 400 square yards of beach. Three teams were each assigned one of the primary colors, and the fourth team was assigned white. Anything on the beach showing that color had to be logged, tagged, and then removed to a central pile. Not only did the teams get training in line search, keeping a log, and tagging "finds", but also the beach was much cleaner when we left. All the collected items were placed in the back of two pickups and hauled to an undisclosed location for disposal. Following the line search exercise, the teams worked more on their shelters, performed ELT search exercises, learned the task associated with location techniques for missing persons and aircraft, and what to do if lost. After supper, each team did a nighttime ELT exercise, then "Lights Out" was called at 2230 hours.

DAY 5: Training Day 4. "The weather cools." The 0600 hours wake up found us with a moist environment and sand sticking to everything. Cadets again performed their physical fitness, this time on the beach. Breakfast was light but satisfying. Training then commenced with teams performing ELT searches in the beach area, honing their line search skills, and completing a navigation course established on the beach. Teams ate lunch and continued their training with more line search, missing person search, and ELT search exercises. Supper of cheeseburgers and sodas didn't come too soon, but after a week without, they sure hit the spot. Everyone was worn out from slogging through the sand all day, but that wasn't the end of the training. After supper, teams performed nighttime ELT searches, along with fire building class. The entire group was then called around the fire and the week was discussed, outlining the good and bad. Those able to compare the training to "GSARRS" and "Hawk Mountain" explained to the remaining trainees, which they considered better or worse. Needless to say, everyone was very impressed with the training they received from the Texas Wing Ground Training School, and nearly everyone expressed a desire to return in 2009 for more training. "Lights Out" was called at 2230 hours, but that wasn't the end of an eventful day.

DAY 6: Out-processing day. "Who are you?" As the previous night's fire was burning down, cadets were spending time going out in two-person teams to do a timed ELT search. The remaining cadets stayed around the fire, told stories, and discussed the week's training. One cadet fell asleep by the fire and when the remaining cadets tried to awaken them, the cadet was unresponsive. To make matters worse, they rose off the seat log and would have walked directly into the fire had it not been for the other cadets around. The cadets contacted an instructor and the sleepwalking cadet would still not respond. The trainees and instructors lashed the sleepwalking cadet to a backboard and prepared to transport the cadet to a medical facility. As the trainees were preparing to load the backboard and cadet into the squadron van for transport, the sleepwalking cadet awoke and "freaked out." Words cannot describe the confusion at that point. The sleepwalking cadet was yelling frantically trying to find out why they were lashed to the backboard, and the remaining trainees and instructors were trying to calm the cadet down and get them unlashed. In the end, everyone went to bed and the "fire watch" team spent the night with a little more "spark" in their watch than normal. Everyone was awakened at 0700 hours, and following breaking camp, all the gear was loaded into the trucks, the area was policed for trash and such, and the Texas Wing Ground Training School trainees and staff formed up next to the thrashing surf. The training school main instructor, and TX-091 commander addressed the trainees and staff and everyone was then initiated in training. Everyone boarded the vehicles for the trip back to Brownsville, but first a stop at one of the local "Stripes" convenience stores for some breakfast burritos. The school attendees and staff then returned to the TX-091 squadron where the out-processing was accomplished. Everyone attending the school received a t-shirt and "squirters" (SQTR) for the training they accomplished during the week.

AD FIN: This training provided the insight for many of the trainees that we are nowhere close to being fully prepared to handle an airplane crash with injuries. While we might be able to locate a missing camper or locate an ELT on the ramp, we need to constantly train to keep the "edge" needed to possibly save a life. Everyone should take advantage of the training they receive and practice it as much as they possibly can because we never know when that UDF mission will turn into a full-blown SAR. The Texas Wing Ground Training School provided some of the better training I've seen in the last few years, and all of it was taught by four cadets. They should be commended and this school should definitely be considered for authorization as a national activity. It's that good!

Wreaths  Across< America