[FedCom] CAP mission

[Rankin, Robert L]

Perhaps I spread the sarcasm on a little thick, and  I certainly didn't mean to alienate my friend Denny who has been on this list for about as long as I have -- a looong time.  I also agree with John's last paragraph, below.  Volunteering is great and is what the country is all about.
 
I'm a volunteer with Leavenworth County Emergency Preparedness (yes, we have REAL storms in Kansas) and, as such, like to feel I'm putting my amateur radio training to good use.  I won't resign just because one or two of the other volunteers like to outfit their pickups with flashing yellow strobes (they'd use red and blue if permitted) and go racing around with their 4-ways blinking -- it's dumb, but I can't stop them from saying "look at ME!!!".  I would resist being asked to mount some sort of "terrorist watch" because I think that is mere fear-mongering.  Counter-terrorism and drug interdiction are best left to the professionals with the proper authority.  I don't think CAP has any business pretending to engage in these activities any more than the Boy Scouts do.  
 
I don't monitor or report CAP transmissions primarily because the stuff on their repeater is about as exciting as watching paint dry (and, yes, MARS repeaters, USCG AUX and our ham "nets" are just as incredibly boring 99% of the time).  But maybe some of you CAP volunteers out there can enlighten me about SAR frequencies to listen to -- that's CAP's real mission anyway.  
 
If I hear on the news that a plane is missing, where *exactly* should I tune to hear CAP SAR ops?  The repeaters?  121.5?  121.1?  122.1?  What?  And if I program their SAR channel into my radio, is it going to be breaking squelch constantly with "other" comms, or will it be more or less silent unless there is an exercise or actual emergency?  I'm not normally an airband monitor, but I'm willing to be educated.
 
Bob, WoNXN

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> I had made a remark, perhaps on this list, years later saying if I
were president the first thing I'd do is disband the CAP.  In my mind
it was full of cowboys and rednecks.  I have since learned the CAP
does perform a valuable service to our country and they do it for
free.  Yes, the USAF gives them a budget, but if it weren't for the
volunteers of all ages it wouldn't exist.

> I have no idea what their post-9/11 mission is.  I do think them
encrypting is a little over the top, but the APCO-25 I believe is
mandated (is it APCO-25 or narrowband that is actually mandated?).