GROUP 2 PICNIC

DATE: October 3, 2009 (same day as Group 2 and CAC meeting)
TIME: 11:00 am until 5:00 pm (park closes at sunset)
WHO: Cadets/Family Members/Senior Members of Group 2
WHERE: Memorial Lake State Park (by Fort Indiantown Gap)
COST: Food/Drink

CADETS: This picnic is for you to give you a chance to meet and socialize for a few hours with other Squadron Cadets. Come and join us for some food,games and fun. Bring your families with you so they can meet the people you spend time with.

CAC & GROUP 2: There will be a Group 2 and CAC meeting the same day at 1:00 pm and than a gaming competition after the meeting is being planned. You can come to the picnic and have lunch and than go to CAC meeting and return to the picnic after the meeting to enjoy games and activities provided there.

COMMITTEE: We are looking for 2 Cadet members from each Squadron to be on a Committee to plan the games,activities and things to do for all the age groups. If your interested in serving on this committee please contact Tina at: martina_605@yahoo.com, or Helene at: kzisalkids@aol.com

SQUADRON DISPLAYS: If you wish you can make a display of things your Squadron has done,is going to do or any Events you may have coming up. Use Pictures,Newspaper articles etc....Be prepared to talk about it, you may be asked to do a presentation.

FOOD/DRINKS: We are asking each Squadron (Cadets/Families/Seniors) to bring enough food for your (Squadron/Family) and it will be placed on a common area table for all to enjoy. Like the old fashioned picnics. Please be generous with your portions so there will be enough to share. Don't forget plates,plastic ware etc.

PICNIC SITE: Has many many picnic tables but if you want to sit in a lawn chair you will need to bring your own. There are several grilles and there is electric but it will only accommodate one item at a time or the breaker will trip. There are Pavilions,Bathrooms,Water Fountains,Play Areas,Exercise Courses,Hiking Trails, Volleyball Court and field for softball,and other sports and the area is Handicapped Accessible.

DIRECTIONS: Go Rt 81 North to Exit 85 and from the South to Exit 85B. Turn North onto Fisher Ave, go to Funcks Restaurant and make a left onto Asher Miner Road (Well Marked with signs all the way) Go to the first road on left and turn onto Boundary Road. Follow that road about 1 mile and you will see the sign for Middle Road, make a left and it will bring you into the parking lot.

If you have any questions you can contact Tina - Squadron 307 martina_605@yahoo.com or phone 570-385-1754 or Helene - Squadron 306 kzisalkids@aol.com at 717-364-7332

There is a House Appropriation Committee Hearing at the State Capital at 2pm on the 26th of February. This is the appropriation to DMVA, the department under which our budge falls. Members are encouraged to attend this House Appropriation meeting, if your schedule permits. Cadets with proper Senior member supervision may come as well. This is an important meeting and it would leave a great impression to see our members there in uniform. Acceptable uniform is: AF style uniform, corporate military uniform, or blazer & tie. We will meet at 1:30pm at the Main Rotunda. We hope to see you there!



Laura Martin

Wing Administrator

PA WING, CAP

We had a great January Group 2 staff meeting. I want to thank
everyone for attending. It is good to know that we have so many hard
working members in the group. The next group 2 staff meeting will be
March 14 at 1300. We also will have the group 2 CAC meeting on the
same day from 1200 to 1300. From now on, Group 2 CAC meetings will be at
1200, prior to the Group 2 staff meetings.

We have a number of activities on the calendar. The mini encampment is
planned for March 14th at FITG. We have two AE/O-flight days planned for
April 25 and
August 1. There will be a AE bootcamp on May 23 from 1500 to 1700,
just after the Group 2 staff meeting. All members are welcome to
attend. Information for these activities will be posted on the Group
2 web page (http://gp2.pawg.cap.gov/). I will also use the Group 2
mailing list to keep everyone up to date. You can sign up for the
mailing list on the Group 2 web page.

Lt Col Bechtel reported to us that we now have 19 pilots in the group. All
I have to say is, WOW! We also have had newsletters every month since June
2008 - keep up the good work, Capt McCutcheon. The newsletters can be
downloaded on the
web page. Lt Col Marshall let us know that the region commander will not
approve of any Lt Col promotions that come to him unless the applicants hold
a Group staff position, or higher. If you want to get promoted, come join
the Group 2 staff team. We need your help and we have a number of openings.
See you soon and remember safety, safety, safety or is it safety report,
safety report, safety report!

Brandon Parks, Major, CAP
Deputy Commander, Group 2

I want to thank all of the members for all of your hard work and putting so much of your time into Civil Air Patrol. I especially want to thank all of the squadron commanders. They not only have to do their job, but fill all of the other jobs in the squadron that are open. They give a lot of time with very little in return. They have to make sure that all the reports are turned into group and wing each month, deal with any problems that come up, and make sure the program is running smoothly.

I want to thank Lt Roth, the Group 2 Emergency Services Officer. We are usually on the phone working on something every week, sometimes everyday.

I want to thank Lt Col Bechtel, the Group 2 Standardization and Evaluation Officer. He has done a great job making sure that O-flight numbers have been coming up and getting people checked out. He has doubled the number of both.

I want to thank Lt Case, the Group 2 Safety Officer. He has worked a number of hours trying to make sure the squadrons turn in their safety reports, so that they will still get money from wing.

I want to thank Capt McCutcheon, the Group 2 Public Affairs Officer. She has worked so hard putting the Group 2 newsletter together and lets me know when I need to update the web page.

I want to thank Maj Wilson, the Group 2 Finance Officer. She always makes sure all the reports are in on time and lets us know how much money we have.

I want to think Capt Inscho, the Group 2 Communication Officer. If you need comm at an activity or need communication train, he is always willing to step up.

I especially want to thank Lt Col Marshall, the Group 2 Commander. It seems like he is always at work and still makes time to run the Group. It seems there is always a problem or challenge to overcome and he always steps up.

I want to thank the rest of the Group 2 Staff Team for all of their hard work and I am looking forward to working with all of you in the future.


C. Brandon Parks, Major, CAP
Deputy Commander, Group 2

The December newsletter deadline is coming up. Please send any articles or article ideas to gistek@ptd.net.

I still don’t have a “Commander’s Corner” article for this month. This feature is open to anyone in any sort of command position, both seniors and cadets. It is a good place to congratulate our members on a job well done, or remind them of things they need to know.

Also, please pass this information on to other members that might be interested in contributing. I would especially like to receive articles from cadets.

Thank you for your time,
-1Lt Barbara McCutcheon
PAWG Group 2 PAO

To all concerned

The Staff Training Exercise for Dec 6 is postponed until a future date due to many causes. More info to follow.

Byron Marshall LtCol CAP
Group 2 Commander

On November 15th and 16th - Squadron 306 will be running a concession stand at both ranges for the PA National Guard "Operation Sure Shot" at Fort Indiantown Gap. "Operation Sure Shot" is the annual event when two firing ranges are opened to the public to site in their guns before hunting season and the PA National Guard is there to support that effort. There is a hand gun range which will be located by the Hawk Watch at Training Range C-6 and a rifle range opened at range 6 off of Quartermaster Road (road across from CAP HQ). The ranges open at 0900 both days and close at 1500 Saturday and 1400 Sunday.

Come out and get ready for hunting season and enjoy a hot dog; Beef BBQ; Pork BBQ or soup and support Squadron 306.

Thanks to all the pilots who flew cadet O rides in support of the Zerbey, Lebanon and Lancaster Squadrons yesterday, Sunday, 9 NOV. Special thanks to Bill Durdan and Geoff Knauth, from Group 5 who brought their 172 and 182 to ZER. Thanks to their Group commander, Roy Long, for supporting Group 2. Jeff Case, Bill Durdan and Geoff Knauth did 15 O rides at ZER for the ZER unit and the Lebanon unit. Jack Weckerle and Greg Gallerizzo did 6 at LNS and then dropped 33L at VAY for maintenance and chased in 99467. It was Greg’s first mission as CAP pilot and he did a great job. BOTTOM LINE = 21 cadet O rides ( a lot of happy cadets) over 20 hours on our planes and flying hours and increased proficiency for our pilots. Congrats and thanks again.


Lt Col Chuck Bechtel
Standardization/Evaluation Officer
Group 2, PA Wing, CAP

Civil Air Patrol Squadron 307, Lebanon, Pa. was asked by Lebanon Valley
College in Annville, Pa. to assist in traffic control during their
annual cross country event at Fort Indiantown Gap on Sept. 6, 2008.

Assisting this event were Cadet Commander 2Lt. Patrick Roach, Cadet
Master Sergeant Amber Frantz, Cadet Staff Sergeant Ben Lyon, Cadet
Airman Jordon Hollinger, and Cadet Airman First Class Tyler Zoner.
Senior members were Major Hal Roach, commander of 307 and 1Lt. Wilson
Ballester.

-----------------------------------------------------
Thank you,
Lt. Bea Gernert

Picture taken by Lt. Wilson Ballester. Left to right are: Cadet Staff
Sergeant Ben Lyon, Park Ranger Josh Adams of Memorial State Park and
Cadet Commander 2Lt Patrick Roach

September is National Preparedness Month (NPM). Civil Air Patrol is an NPM Coalition Member again this year, and wants to encourage all members and their communities to be better prepared for emergencies. NPM is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is a nationwide effort to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools as part of the Ready Campaign. Throughout September DHS will work with a wide variety of organizations like Civil Air Patrol to highlight the importance of emergency preparedness planning.

This year there are again four main focus areas for NPM.

a. Get a kit

b. Make a plan

c. Be informed

d. Get involved

There are many opportunities to participate in NPM, and we encourage all members to check out all the tools and ideas available at http://www.ready.gov/. We hope you have a safe and educational National Preparedness Month.

AMY S. COURTER
Major General, CAP
National Commander