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Home My WebLink About1944-06-00 Byrd Wing (2)BYRD WING Headquarters Texas Wing CAP 1209 Jackson St., Dallas, Texas Edited by LT. HENRY LEBOWIT'Z women for the Air Forces, and this is work in which every CAP member can take part. In fact, it was said, CAP' has no use for members who refuse to participate in this work. Recognizing the help which CAP will need., General Arnold has publicly stated that the Air Force is in back of CAP 100 per cent in this effort. Confirming the statement, it was re- vealed at the conference that General Arnold is sending a memorandum to all Air Force installations advising them of the desirability of offering all possible co-operation to CAP on training matters. At a cost of one million dollars, Air Force Headquarters have prepared a CAP Cadet Manual which contains text -book material on all the subjects to be taught cadets. The manual is the size of a New York telephone di- rectory, written in non-technical language so as to be understandable to the teen-age mind. About 250,000 copies are being printed, to be off the press sometime in June. The manual is illustrated, and each chapter has been written by the Air Forces' ex- pert in that particular subject. One copy will be issued to each CAP Cadet. Also, it was revealed that this sum- mer selected groups of CAP Cadets will be allowed to live at Army Air bases for two or three weeks, to ob- serve the various activities at an Air Force installation. About 150, young men from each state will be selected on a competitive basis. Each will report to a base near his home and he v,?iil have to furnish his own transpor- tation to and from the base. A CAP officer will be in charge of each group of the cadets. In the near future the Army will offer eight or nine months of college training to 17 -year-old youths who can obtain their parents' consent. Most of these will be CAP Cadets. The idea behind CAP training and this college training is that a boy makes a better pilot when he gets to flight training, if he has all his pre- flight work behind him and can con- e eritrate on actual flying. I was also learned that CAP Na- tional Headquarters has arrange- ments under way to secure 1,500 Link trainers for use in the CAP program. Furthermore, the Army is preparing lists of training aids and obsolete material, including gliders, propellers, aircraft engines and airplanes, which can be turned over to CAP' for train- ing cadets and adult members. Mo- tion picture projectors, slides, and 450 different types of training films will also be made available, as well as radio and communications egluip- n-i ent. As soon as all this material has leen catalogued, lists will be fur- nished to each Wing and items can be obtained by requisition through channels. Of course the main share of these training aids is being turned over to CAP for the 250,000 cadets to be recruited by next January. Each state has been assigned its share of this total. Texas has been assigned a quota of 12,000 which is the sixth largest in the United States. The average CAP unit will have to recruit more than its quota, and it is going to require careful planning and widespread work to meet the quotas. It is an absolute necessity for each unit to enlist the aid of local schools in securing lists of names of prospec- tive cadets, in locating school teachers who will be willing to help as instruc- tors, and in obtaining adequate class- room facilities. There are now about 60,000 CAP Cadets in the country and this figure should be doubled by the end of the summer. The winter months will be devoted to recruiting the balance necessary to have a total of 250,000 cadets at the turn of the year. This tremendous expansion requires CAP to go into many communities it has not heretofore touched. It is esti- mated that the Texas Wing alone must go into 400 new towns. The people to talk to in these com- munities are the civic leaders — mayors, school superintendents, minis- ters, bankers, newspapers, editors, chambers of commerce, and business men's luncheon clubs. Sell them on CAP and its work. A good point to make is that if a boy has to get into the Army, it will be better for him to get in the Air Forces, which accept only the cream of the crop. Stress that CAP not only prepares young men for the Army, but it trains them for a place in the great future of post- war aviation. CAP' training offers additional fea- tures of advantage to the community. The nation-wide CAP physical train- ing program soon to be instituted by means of daily radio broadcasts will do much to improve the physical con- dition of the youth of the country. There is also a moral advantage in which every community should be interested. Many young people today are highly unsettled, and their en- ergies naturally must have an outlet. Great numbers are leaving school to take jobs in war industries, where they get a lot of money and feel them- selves independent financially and otherwise, from their parents. They became part of the juvenile delin- quency problem, which today is bigger than ever before. Aviation has a natural appeal for young people, and through CAP' training, the delin- quency problem can be solved in many communities. Another timely subject brought up at the CAP conference was that of the financial needs of the organiza- tion, particularly as they will arise under the expansion program. Past experience has shown that each ac- tive CAP unit must have office space, equipment and stenographic help. The space and equipment costs money, and paid help is a necessity. Here- tofore, such expenses have been paid out of the individual CAP members' pockets, but, it was learned, relief is in sight. An organization known as the Civil Air Patrol League is being formed for the sole purpose of furnishing funds for the CAP training program. The League is a non-profit, non- partisan, non-political body, composed of aviation -minded citizens whose do- nations to the League will be chan- nelled to the active CAP units over the country. It was pointed out that members of the League will not wear uniforms, nor will they participate in CAP activities beyond furnishing financial assistance and moral sup- port. CAP members and CAP Cadets may join the League, but they are under no obligation to do so. Numerous other subjects and prob- lems, too lengthy to be included here, were brought up at the training con- ference. It is planned to conduct ad- ditional training conferences from time to time when occasion warrants them. CLIPPINGS AND PICTURES It is urged that all squadron in- telligence officers maintain a com- plete file of clippings and photographs relating to the Army Air Forces and Civil Air Patrol and send them to the Wing Intelligence officer as regular- ly as possible. The Office of War Information is anxious to receive these clippings as well as other officers in Washington, who desire to keep up with the serv- ices being rendered by CAP units throughout the country. Let's keep the clippings coming. RADIO RECEIVERS FOR LIAISON SHIPS AVAILABLE New radio receivers for the Army Liaison ships are now available. The receivers supplement the receivers now in the planes, and are of a much more powerful type. With the new receivers, pilots will be able to contact airport towers from greater distances and also be able to fly the "beam." BYRD WING