Hawk Mountain Ranger School

KEY LEADERSHIP CHANGES ANNOUNCEMENT As we put the rocky 2020 year behind us and continue our preparations for the 2021 season we would like to announce the following changes to our HMRS leadership team: PLANNING SECTION CHIEF... Lt Col Bruce Thompson has stepped down as Planning Section Chief after executing a remarkable online program in 2020 for which he was awarded CAP's Exceptional Service Award! Lt Col Thompson is a highly accomplished military and civilian pilot and instructor which is where he will focus his CAP attention going forward while remaining on the HMRS staff to support various initiatives. In his place, Maj Mark Hahn (Expert Ranger #279) will assume the role of Planning Section Chief. Maj Hahn recently assumed the position of Logistics Section Chief and has already made huge waves in moving forward some exciting construction projects on the Mountain. He comes to us with an extensive CAP and business background and his project management skills will be of huge benefit to this crucial position in planning our schools throughout the year. LOGISTICS SECTION CHIEF With Maj Hahn moving to Planning Section Chief, Maj Aaron LaMantia (Expert Ranger #277) will be assuming the role of Logistics Section Chief in his place! Maj LaMantia has quietly been serving in support of the Logistics section day-to-day for many years and is well versed in CAP Logistics and Communications including the last several years reviving the Field Communicators Courses. He recently completed a full redesign and remodel of our Logistics offices and worked tirelessly for the last 4 years to regain our HMRS repeater capability. In this role, he will continue to support the Field Communicators Course and Ranger programs and will be a huge asset officially taking charge of this important behind-the-scenes function on the Mountain. Both individuals will be working with our Command staff to identify key members to further build out their teams to support the 2021 school and beyond. Please congratulate them on their new roles!

WINTER RANGER SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT Due to rising cases in COVID through the winter months, and the unlikelihood of a vaccine being widely distributed prior to the spring we have decided to proactively move our Winter Ranger School program scheduled for February to an online format. This will be a modified program focusing on winter survival academics. In preparation for the 2021 Summer Ranger School, we will be aiming to have a more robust, in-person, Emergency Services weeke...nd focusing on GTM skills in the March / April timeframe to allow people to complete necessary prerequisites before attending the NCSA in July. We appreciate everyone's continued patience and flexibility with all of CAP's changing plans as we navigate this pandemic.

This season we are thankful for all the support you have shown us and your communities in these trying times!

To all Veterans who have served and are currently serving - thank you! Today, and every day, we honor and salute you. Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause. -Abraham Lincoln

Productive year - Civil Air Patrol, our AFNORTH United States Air Force auxiliary, helped save 130 lives in FY2020; 4th straight year with 100+ lives saved. Cell phone tech key enabler. U.S. Northern Command Air Combat Command

Entombment and committal services will take place at 12:00 pm on Friday October 9th, 2020, in Rolling Green Cemetery, with the Rev. Dr. Alan C. Wenrich, officiating. A viewing will be held on Friday from 10:00 am to 11:00 am in Wiedeman Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 357 S. Harrisburg St. Oberlin.

It is with our deepest sorrow to announce the passing yesterday of 1st Lt Charlie Peters (Expert Ranger #23). He was 79 years old. Born the same year Civil Air Patrol was founded, 1941, Charlie joined CAP in January 1956, 13 days after his 15th birthday. He was an immediate presence at Hawk Mountain Ranger School and attended the first school held on the mountain that summer. Charlie continued to climb the ranks of the program as a cadet, senior staff, Expert Ranger, and S...Continue reading

We are honored to share with you an announcement that has been a long time coming. After several years, we have updated our memorial wall and will be holding a commemoration ceremony in the near future. Members of Hawk Mountain Ranger School have been blessed by the selfless service these members have contributed to the success of the program. Please stay tuned as COVID restrictions are lifted we will be posting updates for the ceremony at the mountain to remember and honor t...he fallen. https://www.capranger.org Memorial Contributions: Hawk Mountain Ranger School, PA Wing Civil Air Patrol respectively accepts contributions in honor of our Staff. We sincerely appreciate your donations to one of the established memorial funds and we can discuss your personal wishes. Donor and Family Acknowledgement: When a memorial donation is received, the Wing Commander will send a donation receipt thanking the person who made the donation, which they may need for tax purposes. Memorial Naming Opportunities: For Members of the Hawk Mt Ranger School Staff, a commemorative Large Memorial Stone located in the garden beside the chapel at the Col. Phillip Neuweiler Ranger Training Facility. A gift donation to any of the funds of $500.00 or more will provide a staff member's name on this Memorial. If you would like to serve on the Memorial Committee or have any ideas for the memorial please contact Lt Col DeEtte Riley: [email protected]. Please send Donations to: Pennsylvania Wing Headquarters, Civil Air Patrol Building 3-108 Fort Indiantown Gap Annville, PA 17003 Make Checks payable to: PA Wing Civil Air Patrol Please note on the memo section of the check; Memorial Fund for _____________.

Join today's National Conference as we discuss Learning Life Lessons on the Mountain' https://civilairpatrol2020.pathable.co///53io2kr7GZ5oNvkzK

Join in on Friday 14 Aug at 1400 EDT as the HMRS Commander, Lt Col Brian Cuce, presents on life skills and career opportunities learned through the HMRS program! More information to follow on how to view.

NEW: For the fourth consecutive fiscal year, Civil Air Patrol has passed the century mark in lives saved, as credited by the United States Air Force Rescue Coordination Center . #MondayMotivation #CellPhoneForensics

"I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Hawk Mountain Ranger School's first virtual classroom and online training and it was great. I want to thank the staff for their invaluable insight and creativity that was available to students from across America and as far as Japan, said Chief Master Sgt. Robert Dandridge, Civil Air Patrol national command chief. https://www.cap.news/hawk-mtn-virtual-version-draws-650-fr/

Help us with our presentation to the CAP (Virtual) National Conference! How have you used the skills you learned at Hawk in your future life and career?

Last weekend we had the privilege of awarding Expert Ranger #281 to our School Commander, Lt Col Brian Cuce. Please join us in congratulating him on this milestone! The Expert Ranger is the pinnacle of the CAP Ranger Program and signified expertise in wilderness search and rescue and survival. Expert Rangers are CAP Ground Branch Directors with the ability to coordinate multiple Ranger Teams in the field for extended, challenging search environments beyond the capabilities of a standard Ground Branch Director. Expert Rangers are awarded the Black Keystone and Belt.

Edible of the Day: Milkweed The only way to eat Milkweed is as a young shoot (under 15 cm), but the young shoot could be confused with dogbanes and Butterfly-weed, which are both poisonous! TO DIFFERENTIATE: (a) Young Milkweed Shoots are fuzzy and the broken stems have a milky substance. (b) Dogbanes are hairless. (c) Butterfly-weed has no milky sap.

This time on Sunday is graduation. The parade field is full of cadets and parking lot full of cars and parents. While we missed everyone this week, a lot of progress was made making our facilities better for 2021 and we hope you all enjoyed the online learning!