ARCHER System Gathering Hi-Resolution Aerial Images Of Flooded
Areas
Aircrews from the Minnesota Wing of Civil Air Patrol, an
auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, have accumulated more than 100
hours of high-tech flying time in recent days, supporting disaster
relief efforts in the Red River Valley.
Maj. Doug Ployhar Operates Civil Air
Patrol's ARCHER System
"Minnesota Wing has a reputation of excellence and providing a
strong response when called upon. This has been demonstrated
repeatedly during the Red River flooding," said Maj. Paul Pieper,
Minnesota Wing's emergency services director and incident commander
for the wing's ongoing flood response missions.
As of Tuesday, the bulk of the wing's flying time has been
dedicated to Civil Air Patrol's expanding ARCHER operations in
Minnesota and North Dakota. Twenty CAP members from Minnesota Wing
have taken part in 33 flights in support of Airborne Real-time
Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance, or ARCHER, which
produces high-resolution aerial images that are assisting state and
federal emergency management officials in their assessment of flood
damage.
"Aircrew training prior to deployment and supporting the ground
teams were good missions for our pilots and their crews since the
demand for CAP's ARCHER system increased," said Pieper. "Our pilots
were training, reviewing tasks and completing skills needed for
aerial imaging in anticipation of the flooding."
In the early days of the disaster relief effort, from March
3-17, wing members took part in 11 air sorties totaling 16 flying
hours as the wing ramped up its preparations for flood response
missions based in the Fargo-Moorhead, MNs, area. In all, 35 wing
volunteers worked the preparation flights, accumulating 210
personnel hours.
Mission tempo increased when ground teams from across Minnesota
were dispatched to the area on March 16, assisting with sandbagging
and dike building efforts. Reports from North Dakota Wing indicate
that more than 30 dwellings in the two cities were saved due to
CAP's ground team efforts.
The ground team portion of the mission involved 85 members who
provided more than 3,000 hours of service. Aircrews flew five
sorties totaling 13 flying hours in direct support of the ground
team efforts.
The Minnesota Wing consists of 23 squadrons located in every
area of the state, with more than 1,300 members and 17 light
aircraft. The wing routinely flies thousands of hours per year of
operational flights and contributes some 10,000-plus hours to
search and rescue, counterdrug, disaster preparedness, homeland
security and other humanitarian mission flying.