7/25/2013–Burlington. NC–Once each Fiscal Year, The US Air Force conducts a SAREVAL that serves as a means to determine the state of readiness of the Civil Air Patrol to perform during “real world” emergencies. Col. Larry Ragland, Commander of CAP’s Middle East Region said, “The SAREVAL standby alert is in effect, and three of the Region’s seven wings have been selected by the Air Force for evaluation. North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia will work together on the tasks assigned during the exercise. The Virginia Wing has been directed to establish a mission base at Danville, VA Regional Airport and will arrange for staffing. The evaluations began on July 20 and will run through July 29.
According to North Carolina Wing Commander, Col. David E. Crawford, The NC Wing has aircraft, aircrews and ground teams ready to respond, “We have also extended our offer to assist with mission base backup staffing as needed,” he said.
Crawford noted that NC Wing aircraft and personnel participated in the disaster relief missions following Hurricane Sandy. “’Sandy” gave us a clear picture of the need for CAP’s wings to operate as teams rather than individual units. Our region commander, Col. Ragland has stressed the need operating ‘without boundaries.’ This SAREVAL will emphasize the need for interoperability within the region,” Crawford said.
Advance planning for this exercise began more than a month ago, Crawford said. “We have not been given any advance idea as to the exact nature of the tasks we will be called upon to complete. But since this is hurricane season, we can logically expect that disaster relief missions will be of high priority.”