26 May 2008
TOMBALL, Texas - On the weekend of December 7, 8, & 9, 2007, Delta Composite Squadron hosted a Field Training Exercise, also known as a FTX, for short.  My Dad, 1^st Lt. Jim Douglas, CAP, and I arrived at Tri-County Baptist Church property at 1500 hrs, followed shortly by 1^st Lt Buchman and his cadets.  Set up began, and Mission Base was quickly up and running.  A little after 1600 hrs, the other staff and basics began to arrive.  The rest of the afternoon flew by, and soon all cadets and Senior Officers had reported in.  About 1700 hrs, the staff started with an orientation class, briefing us on what would be going on, and what was expected of us during this weekend.  Once that criteria was met, 1^st Lt. Buchman held a safety briefing, and we were made aware of the dangers of the area.  Then came the Delta tradition of burning a wooden fish, so no one would get hurt on the FTX.  Thankfully, no one did!  Digging a military latrine was next on the busy schedule.  After a class on how to properly conduct a search line, we put on our 24 hour packs (containing everything we would need to survive in the wilderness for 24 hours) and headed out to practice our newfound skills.  About an hour later, everyone went to bed, and CQ began.  Several people on CQ (as well as some basics who couldn’t sleep from excitement) heard coyotes fairly close. 

Saturday morning, after a military wake up call, we headed out to do some hard-core motivational PT, led by 1^st Sgt. Philip Brayton, and Sgt. Carter Post.  Breakfast came next, with Lt. Buchman’s outstanding cooking, which we would enjoy throughout the day.  Then, it was off to learn more about ELT searches, missing person finding and detailed instruction on using a compass, provided by SM Steve Watkins.  This technique, combined with pace counting, took some people a while to catch on to, but eventually everyone mastered it.  From 1000 hrs to 1400 hrs we had the pleasure of having a police fire arms training instructor come out to teach shooting, in preparation for Winter Encampment.  Several cadets, myself included, were treated to the experience of shooting Lt. Douglas’ M-1 30 carbine rifle.  Carrying an injured person on a litter did not go so well at first.  Leave it to staff to fix that problem.  About an hour after dark, a simulated injury was once again set up.  Did I say “simulated?”  The basics did not know that!  When we found the “injured” cadet, 98% of the basics believed it to be real, and some cadets were really freaking out!  C/Amn Sharon Geiman jumped right in, took the head, and started giving orders, with help from Lt. Buchman, who is a certified Firefighter/Paramedic.  This time, the exercise went very well, and the staff was pleased.  The rest of the night was spent in a missing person search, as well as a midnight sortie for an ELT. 

Sunday morning dawned cloudy, but that did not dampen the cadets’ eager spirits.  PT went great and then we had a delicious meal of MRE’s.  For some cadets, it was their first time.  After an extensive ELT search, that lasted several hours, and included three injured prople, everyone attended services at Tri County Baptist Church, on whose property we were graciously allowed to use.   

Lunch, and then a compass course awaited us, with candy bars at the end! (Oh yeah!!!).  Sadly, 1400 hrs came, and it was time to go home, but what a great weekend!  Those of you who know me know that I love Aerospace.  Several of the staff asked if this FTX had got me hooked on ES.

(My Dad made me go!)  The answer is a big hearty YES !!!  If you have never been on a FTX, I strongly encourage you to go SOON.  It is an experience you will never forget.  What an outstanding weekend!  HOORAH !!!

Article and photos submitted by C/1st Lt Jamie Douglas