Local teenagers and young adults will practice responding to plane crashes and searching for missing persons at Hillsdale Municipal Airport and potentially Hayden Park April 12 at 9:30 a.m.

The event, called Operation Classical, is hosted by the Hillsdale Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol Michigan Wing and will involve a simulated emergency response exercise in which Air Patrol cadets will work alongside local emergency services personnel to respond to simulated emergencies, including aviation accidents and missing person scenarios.

“The purpose of this exercise is to equip cadets to meet the requirements they need to help emergency services,” 2nd Lt. of the Hillsdale Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol Grace Hambleton said. “There’s a long list of requirements before cadets can help in emergency situations. This training provides those qualifications.”

Hillsdale Composite Squadron is the local chapter of the Michigan Wing of the Air Patrol. As a composite squadron, the group includes both cadets ranging from 12-21 years old and senior members who are over 18, according to Hambleton.

“Civil Air Patrol is an auxiliary of the Air Force,” Hambleton said. “Which means that we participate in in-land rescue missions, and, when asked by local first response services, we can be a force multiplier. We can come in as support to emergency services in emergency situations.”

Hillsdale College’s Student Activities Office posted a notice that military and emergency personnel will be in Hayden Park for the training exercise.

“Our plans are currently being solidified so we may be in Hayden Park, but that might change,” Hambleton said.

Senior Kellen Pollock, who leads the Hillsdale College military mentorship GOAL program that works with the Air Patrol, said the event will help cadets prepare to respond to real emergencies by simulating emergencies alongside local first-responders.

“They get to see people whose job it is to save lives do their jobs in action,” Pollock said. “Of course it’s just an exercise, but that’s what you need before participating in a real emergency.”

Hambleton said that all local first responders are invited to the event, including the sheriff’s office, the police department, the fire department, and emergency medical teams. 

“It’s open to anyone who would like to attend,” Hambleton said. “We’ll have the Wing Director of Emergency Services there, Captain Reign Bell.”

According to Hambleton, the cadets will likely simulate rescuing a missing person alongside a K-9 team, an exercise they’ve done before. 

“The scenario was that a local nursing home resident had gone missing,” Hambleton said. “We were tasked with finding them. With this made-up scenario, we send out teams to go find this person. Often, we’ll have a person who’s hiding.”

Hambleton added that the event will also include downed aircraft scenarios. 

“What we typically do is locate the downed plane and find all the debris,” Hambleton said.

Hambleton added that Civil Air Patrol cadets have recently helped emergency services personnel respond to natural disasters.

“Last April, during the bad ice storms, CAP squadrons were deployed to assess damage on roads and waterways,” Hambleton said. 

According to Hambleton, the CAP has close official ties to the Air Force, though they are not an official military force, and they are not deputized to arrest people.

“We’re given permission to wear the Air Force uniform,” Hambleton said. “But we have to comply with all Air Force standards, because it’s a privilege.”

According to Hambleton, the goal of the Hillsdale Composite Squadron is to equip cadets to lead wherever they go — not just in the Air Force.

“We don’t just want them to be leaders in their squads, we want them to be leaders in their community,” Hambleton said.