The Civil Air Patrol (CAP), an auxiliary of the US Air Force, will induct University of Louisiana at Lafayette's President Dr. Joseph Savoie, Vice President of Research and Graduate Students Dr. Robert Stewart, and Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, Executive Director of the National Incident Management Systems and Advanced Technologies (NIMSAT) Institute, on Feb. 21 at 9 a.m. in Abdalla Hall.
The event will mark the beginning of an official partnership between CAP and the NIMSAT Institute, a national-scale technological research center at UL Lafayette with a mission to enhance national resiliency through education, training, and operational support for the homeland security and emergency management community.
Hosted by the Lafayette Composite Squadron, an arm of CAP housed in UL Lafayette's Abdalla Hall along with the NIMSAT Institute, the induction begins with a mission briefing and includes a special Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX) and demonstration. Three CAP Cessna 182 Aircrafts with enhanced satellite digital imaging systems will take highly qualified pilots, experienced photographers, and UL Lafayette's Savoie, Stewart and Kolluru on a photoreconnaissance mission to three regional targets.
The relationship between the NIMSAT Institute and CAP began last year and made significant progress during Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. While working in the State of Louisiana's emergency operations center before and after the storms, the Institute's staff analyzed critical infrastructures and key resources, determining pre-event the most likely facilities that were vulnerable. Once Gustav made landfall, the team produced an analysis of the impacts of the storm after working with state agencies to get CAP authorization and tasking to conduct aerial reconnaissance of these critical assets.
In late September 2008, CAP National Commander Major General Amy Courter visited Lafayette to discuss forming a working alliance with the NIMSAT Institute. The Lafayette Composite Squadron of CAP anticipates assuming an active role in the Institute's all-hazards approach to the disaster lifecycle.
For more information, contact the NIMSAT Institute at (337)482-0694.