Civil Air Patrol's Great Lake Region is conducting a disaster relief exercise during the first two weeks of March. This operation simulates our ability to respond to flooding along the Mississippi River as well as our ability to manage other simultaneously occurring emergency missions.
Volunteer Air Crews from the Civil Air Patrol’s IL Wing are being deployed from northern and southern Illinois simultaneously to capture real-time digital images of the Mississipi River to assess changing flood stages, levee, and bridge conditions as a service to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 5. The crews will be capturing images using the Domestic Operations Awareness and Assessment Response Tool (DAART) which is a realtime collaboration tool that includes sharing of photos, live video, situational awareness, and more. The crews will also be using digital photography images which can be uploaded directly to FEMA and other government and civilian agencies for immediate analysis.
Civil Air Patrol, a volunteer auxiliary of the United States Air Force, regularly prepares for these and other real-world missions requested by the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Army Medical Corps, Departments of Transportation in most states, and several other agencies.
Today’s mission is part of a two-week exercise and is especially challenging given the length of the simulated disaster and the large staffing needs which would tax any volunteer organization.
