Civil Air Patrol responds in the wake of Hurricane Florence

In the wake of Hurricane Florence, 8 members of Civil Air Patrol’s Bethesda-Chevy Chase Composite Squadron (B-CC) made their way to Wilmington, North Carolina to assist with disaster relief efforts. B-CC members were part of a larger team with others coming from Maryland Wing Headquarters, Carroll, Cumberland, and College Park Squadrons.

Their primary mission was to manage and staff a point of distribution (POD) where critical supplies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were provided to the public. Operating out of an elementary school just north of Wilmington, in what became known as the “North POD,” Civil Air Patrol cadets/senior members worked alongside partners from the national guard, local law enforcement/fire rescue, and volunteers from the local government to distribute water, food, and other supplies.

Over the course of 3 days from 7 am to 7 pm, the North POD distributed over 2,500 individual supplies. Many of those members of the community who passed through the POD were unable to return to their homes due to the damage sustained in the storm, flooding still inundating their neighborhoods, or the lack of electricity during hot/humid days. The devastation dealt by the storm was evident across the area with flooded roads, damaged homes/buildings, dark traffic lights/streets, and limited access to open grocery stores, restaurant, or gas stations.

In one instance, as members were loading supplies into back of a van, they noticed the van was filled with an entire family that clearly had been living out of their vehicle for some time. They simply asked for water and food to sustain them until they can return home or find alternate housing. Seeing folks like them and hearing their stories validated the importance of the POD mission. After 5 total days in Wilmington, the team returned home after being relieved by a fresh group from Maryland.

Civil Air Patrol’s response to the Hurricane amounted to countless volunteer man hours on the ground and up in the air across several states and spanning several weeks. The B-CC team, which included Maj. Kristen Santos, Capt. Victor Santos, 1st Lt. Vanessa Muniz-Medina, 1st Lt. Jaison Pajaro, 2nd Lt. William Santos, Cadet 1st Lt. Fernando Fontan, Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Emilia Wright, and Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Bernadette Winnard, was proud to play a small, but important role in relief efforts.

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Composite Squadron meets every Thursday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Montgomery County Public Safety Headquarters located at 100 Edison Park Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. For more information visit www.bcc-cap.org. You can also follow the Squadron on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BCCMD071 or follow @BCCMD071 on Instagram.

Nearly 1,500 CAP members serve in Maryland. Last year wing members flew 13 search and rescue missions. The wing was credit with four finds. Maryland Wing flew 32 missions for the State of Maryland. Members flew 2,245 hours in all mission categories. Volunteers contributed services estimated at $4.6 million. For more information, contact the Maryland Wing at mdwg.cap.gov or follow the wing on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MarylandWingCivilAirPatrol.

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. In this role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 80 lives annually. CAP’s 60,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. In addition, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to over 25,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com or www.CAP.news for more information.