Marc Stanley, 2d Lt., CAP
Public Affairs Officer IL-049
Mid-afternoon on Saturday, 13 September, the Palwaukee Squadron was contacted by local officials from the Village of Prospect Heights, Illinois regarding flood assistance. The Des Plaines River was at flood stage, and some subdivisions were already being saturated by the quickly rising water. After calls to the National Operations Center, and the ILWG Director of Operations, a mission number was assigned, and a REDCAP alert was sent out.
Shortly after the contact by local officials, Palwaukee Squadron personnel started planning for an impending REDCAP mission, and queried it’s members for availability. The first team organized after the REDCAP was officially sent, mustered at the Mission Base 90 minutes later, and was sent into the flooded area to assist with sandbagging duty.
Working with members of the local FD, Public Works, Village officials, US Navy recruits, and local residents, the CAP teams assisted with sandbagging efforts until after midnight. Congressman Mark Kirk showed up with staff members to personally assist in the filling of sandbags, much to the surprise of many on-scene. Congressman Kirk took the opportunity to shake hands with the many CAP members at the scene, and thank them for their assistance to the local communities. Village officials were also amazed at the manpower we provided in such short order, and have indicated CAP will be on it’s future list of ‘go to’ agencies for DR situations.
All in all, 28 members from 6 different units responded to the REDCAP. The units represented were: Palwaukee Squadron, Midway Squadron, Lewis Squadron, Forest Park Squadron, Lake County Squadron, and Group 22 HQ.
