AN OPEN LETTER TO THE YELLOW ROSE SQUADRON

Dear Members of the "Yellow Rose" Squadron,

I want you to know how appreciative we at Headquarters are of the many positive initiatives you are taking to promote the "cause" of the CAF.

Needless to say, The Rose is among the best known and most popular B-25s on the airshow circuit. Her nose art is unique, classy and always brings a smile to the faces of those who see her up close and personal. She just naturally conjures up fond, and a few not-so-fond, memories of days gone by. A first-class warbird is one of the essential elements in successfully promoting the cause of the CAF.

The other equally important element is the attitude that prevails among The Rose's ground support and air crews. Here are two specific examples of what I'm talking about:

1) I recently received a letter from Brenda Fisseler of Hallettsville who was the coordinator for an annual conference. The theme of the conference this year was "On the Home Front...Lavaca County in World War II." Ms. Fisseler arranged for both "Yellow Rose" and Grant Lannon's T-6 "Triple Nickel" to be in Halletettsville for the event. Her comments were; "I could not have been more pleased with our association with this group of people. Everyone in the group was energetic, upbeat, and informative and their presence at the conference was truly appreciated" and "On a personal note, it was truly a thing of beauty to watch the B-25 and the AT-6 Texan fly over Hallettsville as they did during the early 1940s."

2) When Headquarters asked the Yellow Rose Squadron to bring The Rose to Midland late this summer to enhance the aircraft display, the unit willingly rose to the occasion. The airplane arrived on schedule and graced the hangar for several weeks. Then when it was time for her to return to San Marcos, the crew very generously provided rides to several CAF employees as well as members of the local Master Gardners club who were performing volunteer maintenance in the Doolittle Memorial Garden.

I can assure you the ride made their day and your generosity certainly did not go unnoticed. Your spirit of teamwork and willingness to go the extra mile sets the standard for others to follow.

Sincere thanks to one and all for being world class CAF ambassadors. Very Best Regards,

Bob Rice
President
Commemorative Air Force

OPERATIONS REPORT

By Grant Lannon, Operations Officer

We had several successful flyovers on Veteran's Day, which you can read about elsewhere in this issue. We also had a well attended safety meeting on the 19th when Bob Stenevik, Director of Operations/Safety visited us. He showed us an FAA video on Crew Resource Management and got our reactions to the video as a means to determine whether it should be distributed to all CAF units.

Bob reminded us that the new voluntary safety reporting system (SRS) has yet to be used to any significant extent. The reporting system uses an anonymous, non-retributive third party contractor to increase the chances that safety issues are reported and acted on. The third party contractor redacts all possible information that could identify the person writing the report and forwards the report to headquarters. Information on the person filing the report is kept only initially so that if more information is needed, the contractor can forward the request. If the report identifies criminal activity or accident information that requires further investigation by the CAF, FAA or NTSB, the informant information will not remain confidential. Also, if the reporter violates a CAF or FAA regulation and the reporter is also a violator, he can only remain anonymous if the report is submitted within ten days of the reported incident. The postmark on the report will be the 10-day determinant (can you spell "certified mail?"). At any rate, the Unit Leader and Safety Officer will periodically emphasize the nature and purpose of the SRS and the location in the unit where the forms are available. I am telling you now that the forms and publication describing the forms are on the www.ghostsquadron.org website (go to publications). We will also have the forms and publication on the safety bulletin board in the hanger.

ICAS is November 30th to December 3rd in Orlando and I have had to cancel my participation because of a family emergency. As of this writing, there is no one to take my place. We are collecting data on our aircraft to send to John Lage, Director of Marketing at Headquarters. He is collecting all this information so he can attempt to market CAF airplanes as a package at ICAS. We appreciate all of John's work and hope he is successful. All units are giving him financials and dates of availability. This will increase communication between him and the units and help us figure out the best way to get maximum bookings.

On Sunday, December 11th, there will be a pot-luck luncheon and flyday at the CENTEX hanger. Plan on arriving between 10 and 11AM. Craig Cuny will be bringing the entree so bring a dish to go with it. We will fly as many people as we can in the CAF and privately owned aircraft in and about the hanger. This is for family of CAF members. The Rose will be returning from the Yellow Rose Christmas party at Fredericksburg that morning and will be flying also. Flights will be first come, first served.

NOTES FROM THE PX

By Greg Young, Squdron PX Officer

There is not anything new to report on the PX as there has not been any activity since the last article that I wrote. The only thing pending is the Gray Airfield rededication in Killeen on Dec. 6. After that, it will be inventory time and than depending on the pending airshow schedule, re-order time. Hopefully, the group can come up with ideas for new T-Shirts (which will be short on supply by the end of the year) and a photo or 2 that we can use to replace the existing ones which will run out sometime in the next year. Any leads or ideas on those stickers of the Squadron logo would also be appreciated. Well that's it for the PX....Happy landings and Merry Christmas to those who I will not see in person between now and December 25.

Minutes of the November 8, 2005 Meeting of the Yellow Rose Squadron

By Dave Howard, Squadron Safety Officer

The regular squadron meeting was held at San Marcos in the Centex Hangar Ready Room. Squadron Leader Ron Dietes called the meeting to order at 1806. Other officers present were XO, Operations, Maintenance, Adjutant, PX, and Publicity. Twenty members were present. John Angle was introduced as a guest of Shane Arnwine. The previous meeting's Minutes were approved as printed in the Briefings.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

EOD has donated $500 to the Rose "in appreciation" with a nice letter. Thanks y'all!

On the way to Fredericksburg on Dec. 10th, we've been invited to fly over an event at Canyon Lake, so we will take off earlier, at 1030.

Mike Renck announced that one of our fine hill country wineries is planning to market a new batch under the Yellow Rose label, with 50 cents a bottle coming to us.

REPORTS

Operations: The ICAS meeting is coming up late this month. We have our Fredericksburg trip and Canyon Lake flyover on December 10th, and our Christmas flying party here on December 11th. Craig Cuny is bringing the main course. CENTEX members are invited as well. Liddy agreed to coordinate rides for members and family. Grant is also considering a Young Eagles event in December.

Finance: The October beginning balance was $24,297. Net deposits and disbursements added $11,221, so the October ending balance was $35,518. November activities to date have cost $1725. Expected income in November is $933 from Hallettsville. Upcoming expenses are estimated at $22,200, including $4000 for cylinders, $500 for fuel, $2200 for PX merchandise, and the approved $15,500 set-aside for next year's CAF fees due in December and January. Projected November ending balance, after the set-asides, is $12,526. Balance in the "hands-off" accounts is $46,514. This report was accepted. Judy also noted that the Midland trip has provided more revenue than expected. We got $1360 there in donations. We also received an additional $306 to cover fuel because AIRSHO exceeded projections. Last but not least we have received $316 from her application for our 2004 fuel tax rebate.

Maintenance: Jim has pulled off the carburetor from the Left engine. We also sent off a core cylinder to rebuild for the Right engine. Both items will be reinstalled before Fredericksburg, so reserve some Saturdays this month to get your hands duty. Jim also announced that Randolph AFB had some avgas left over from their show, so they brought it to us! Everything is full.

Adjutant: The next roster will be e-mailed this month.

XO: Tim said he has 15 rooms reserved so far for Fredericksburg. He announced that the deadline to get a room in this block is this Thursday. Dinner on Saturday night, (10 December), will be at the hotel at 1900, after Happy Hour.

PX: Greg trucked the PX to Hallettsville. See his full report in the last Brie/ings. He is ready for inventory in January. He also noted that the signed photos of the Rose have been good inexpensive mementos when we run out of some items at appearances. He is waiting on next year's schedule to restock after inventory.

Safety: Jerry couldn't attend the meeting, but Ron reminded that the safety presentation by Bob Stenevik is coming up on the 19th. Plan on being there.

Publicity: Bob reported that the current selected sponsor candidate will discuss our proposal package tomorrow. He also said that next year there is the possibility of another trip to Columbia, SC; this one with a sponsorship. Also, the Highland Lakes basketball team that used the Rose for a photo shoot has discussed a payback dinner for us. Finally, Dick Cole and Tex Hill are being invited to our Fredericksburg bash.

Adopt-an-Airport: Mike expects more work will be scheduled soon for the main gate area, now that the pipe laying project is nearly finished.

ELECTION

Nominees from the floor were solicited for the offices of XO, Finance Officer, and Safety Officer, IAW CAF regulations. None were received, so nomination committee candidates Tim Black, Judy McMillan, and Jerry Taylor were then elected to those offices, respectively, by acclamation.

The meeting adjourned at 1854.