Misconceptions

Common Misconceptions

I have to be retired or active military. 
No military experience is needed.  In fact, most of our adult members do not have a military background.  We are a civilian an auxiliary to the US Air Force.  We do have honorary rank titles based upon time in service and accomplishments.

I have to be a pilot.
 Only about10-20% of our members are active pilots.  Most positions do not require pilot skills.  We need people with a variety of backgrounds and skill sets.  Like any organization, we need help with administration, teaching, logistics, I.T., ground transportation, finance, communications and radio skills, among others.

Our Emergency Services function includes both land based and airborne missions.  Flight Search and Rescue missions normally have a crew of three or four people, only one is required to be a pilot.  The crew includes:

•    One or two Mission Scanners who visually and electronically search for the distressed party, or a Mission Scanner and an Airborne Photographer who take photos of storm or environmental damage.  The scanner also keeps a detailed log of the search pattern and observations.

•    A Mission Observer who assists the pilot and also searches.

•    Pilot - Responsible for safely flying a search pattern or airbone photo mission as directed by the ground Incident Command staff.

•    In addition to the flight crews, we have ground based search and rescue.  These crews also provide post-disaster damage surveys both in the field and by analyzing aerial photographs. 

We're also starting to make more use of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS)..  We can teach you how to become a drone pilot and learn a marketable new skill.

I don’t know how to do any of this.
We have training programs for all of these positions!  Most of it is on-line learning so you can go at your own pace, but there are plenty of face-to-face learning opportunities.  All new members are assigned a mentor to help.

What do I get paid?
Nothing.  We are all volunteers.  Your reward is multi-faceted:

•    Satisfaction in helping others

•    Sense of accomplishment in learning new skills

•    Being part of a team