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NC Wing Holds Spring Ranger Training Weekend

RTW Cadet leaders
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RTW Cadet Commander, C/Maj Aidan Kelley (left) meets with the cadet leaders. Photo by: Lt Col Morgan Torp-Pedersen, CAP (click image to view full size)
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215 CAP members attend Ranger training in Mount Airy, NC

4/14/2019–

On 5-7 April 2019, 215 Civil Air Patrol (CAP) members gathered from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, New Jersey, Kentucky and New York in Mount Airy, North Carolina for an exciting Ranger Training Weekend (RTW).  The RTW was held at Camp Raven Knob in Mount Airy, NC.

The weekend was packed with training with members learning wilderness search and rescue skills, ground team member tasks and Ranger qualification tasks.  

C/Maj Aidan Kelley was the RTW Cadet Commander, Maj Brendan Kearns was the Incident Commander and Maj Jason Cheek was the Ranger School Commander.

Maj Cheek reflected on RTW, "Each RTW presents new and exciting challenges, and this one was no different.  This was our first Spring RTW at Boy Scout Camp Raven Knob and we had to learn and adapt to the environment, terrain, and shelter conditions. We had a fantastic staff - both on the cadet side and the senior side - from over 8 states and numerous squadrons that made this process of adapting easy. In addition to our marvelous staff, we had students willing to learn and eager to take on the responsibility of expanding their skills. 

What makes RTW so unique, is that it is hands-on leadership development program first and foremost that prepares cadets for leadership roles in CAP, as well as outside of CAP, it reinforces the high set of standards that CAP is known for, and it allows Senior Members to mentor these cadets in regards to specific target areas. Many of our Senior Members have unique backgrounds across a very broad spectrum, both civilian and military, that prove to be invaluable assets to this program. These include Senior Members with advanced medical training, irreplaceable logistics experience, advanced and specialized military experience, and even catering/food service experience for large crowds. 

This experience combined with the high standards expected and modeled by CAP and our Ranger parent-program at Hawk Mountain affords us the opportunity to create and manage a program that turns out CAP members able to take this education back to their home squadron and share it. Their enthusiasm for this Ranger program and the Ranger Training Weekends is the greatest testament, in my opinion, to the kind of quality program that we have."

At the end of the weekend, Maj Cheek presented Lt Col Pete Bohler of NC-048 with the second highest level of Ranger Grades - the Instructor rating. Ranger Instructors are authorized to administer certain task testing for Expert Ranger candidates.  They wear the black embroidered INSTRUCTOR hat and black tab and are authorized to wear the optional orange scarf, whistle and white pistol belt. 

Maj Brendan Kearns, the RTW Incident Commander, thanks everyone who showed up early to set up and staff this event.  He also noted that, “20% of the attendees were from outside the NC Wing. There was a special class for CPR/First Aid Instructors and it was very successful with the students now being able to go back to their home units and pass on the training, helping us meet our training goals for the year.”

All RTW attendees received a shirt with the new NC Wing patch emblazoned on the front.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:  The Fall RTW will be held at Camp Raven Knob on 1-3 Nov 2019.

 

Additional information was provided for this article by Lt Col Morgan Torp-Pedersen, RTW PIO.  More photos of RTW are posted at:  https://www.facebook.com/ncrangerschool/