Evolution and History of the FTX Program

The FTX program has always been closely tied to the National Ground Search and Rescue School (NGSAR, founded in 1996, is now a part of the National Emergency Services Academy (NESA) based at Camp Atterbury, IN). The FTX program was started by then Captain (now Lt Col) John Desmarais in 1997 while serving as the Emergency Services Plans Officer, HQ CAP. In that capacity he helped develop a national strategy for member operational specialty qualifications, known then as the Emergency Services Curriculum Project (ESCP). At that same time, Captain Desmarais created the GSAR program at the Miller School in Virginia as a National Special Activity for cadet and senior members.

Test squadrons were identified all over the country to test the curriculum the ESCP working group developed; the Maxwell Composite Squadron (AL-032) was a very active test unit because of its proximity and ties to the national headquarters. In 1998, Captain Desmarais and Lt (now Major and activity director) Michael Long (who at the time was serving as the ES officer at AL-032), developed the FTX program as an activity that would serve the headquarters' need for a test site, and provide the wing with a valuable resource at the same time. At that time, the FTX program was primarily a squadron event. Capt. Desmarais was the first FTX Director and Lt. Long served as the Operations Officer.

The FTX was originally designed as a unit activity to supplement the unit's traditional Emergency Services training, and to allow Captain Desmarais to test programmatic changes that would be used at NGSAR the following year. In 1998, NGSAR was moved to Camp Atterbury, and the activity became part of the larger NESA after the addition of an aircrew program and a mission staff school. Many of the staff members for NGSAR and NESA came from units involved in the testing of curriculum that is now the national standard for all of Civil Air Patrol.

Over the years the FTX program has changed significantly. Originally, the FTX program focused on only training ground team members, and supplemented the wing exercise schedule. Members would be expected to come out to several training weekends starting with a December "Winter" FTX to get the varied topics covered over several months. This grew and changed over the years to better fit into the schedules for the wing personnel, and to allow for more options for personnel to “catch up” on training they may have missed. Formal training exercises were eventually integrated into the program so that members could qualify for their ground team specialties by completing the program without having to go anywhere else.

In 2000, then Captain Joe Curry (Iowa Wing) became the NGSAR commandant and it was there he met (now) Captain Long. That same year, the FTX program was opened to the entire Alabama Wing. The following year, Captain Long would be elevated to Lead Training Advisor at GSAR, working with now Major Curry. Curry and Long would continue in those roles at NESA until 2002. That same year Captain Long would take over as the FTX Director while now Major Desmarais continued to advance at CAP HQ.

In 2002, immediately prior to NGSAR, Major Curry accepted a job at HQ CAP. It would be his last year as a Commandant, but upon moving to Alabama he joined AL-032, and was introduced to the FTX program. In a role reversal, Major Curry became the FTX Operations Officer and Captain Long became the GSAR Commandant for the 2003 and 2004 schools.

Today, Majors Long and Curry run the FTX program with the help of Lt. Col. Rob Gaston (USAF-Ret.), Capt. Amanda Anderson, Capt. Sam Ogilvie, and Lt. Gary Ernest. Lt Col Desmarais still assists as time allows with the FTX program, but his current position as the national headquarters DO keeps him fairly busy now. The program has continued to grow each year, including the addition of the Advanced and Team Leader schools in 2005.

In 2006, the program incorporated more scenario-based training to the FTX’s to provide more realistic real-time training.

In 2007, Major Long and Lt Ernest developed an automated system for task tracking and tested this PDA-based capability before moving it to NGSAR, where Major Long is once again the commandant.

For 2008, the FTX will run more along ICS lines and any work done by members will be tied to an operational specialty. This is primarily a benefit to staff members who had not been advancing their skills while they helped to make FTX successful. Since FTX does not train aircrew, those tasks and specialties will not be available, nor will Incident Commander training.

While the FTX program has become a valuable and rewarding program in its own right, its primary function has always been to train and qualify wing personnel in ground operations based on the national standard. The purpose of the national standard is to assure our customers that CAP can meet mission requirements anywhere in the country with a trained volunteer force that have a common standard for mission performance. With the advent of increased homeland security, and the need for disaster operations posed by increased weather events in the southeast, the Alabama Wing is committed to training as many members as possible to provide mutual aid and community support in times of need. While portions of the training and the need for documentation is cumbersome at times, it is vitally important that we be able to verify a member's skills so they can operate with the highest degree of confidence and safety while protecting the CAP organization from liability.