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Drummond Island:Declassified - The Death Notice

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Editor's note: The document below is pretty much the last of the Drummond Island stuff we've been able to uncover. We were going to hold this until September, but the coincidence of the dates is simply too much.

What you see here, issued twenty years ago today, is the actual death certificate of the Michigan Wing Ranger Program. No, it doesn't look like a Death Certificate - but it is.

We actually have commentary regarding this piece from the source: a former Michigan Wing Ranger who knew of our Drummond Island series and came forward with this document (the marginal notes are his).

He had this to say:

"You will note that it talks about a continuing Michigan ranger program and the dissolution of Group XII. Right after this letter went out, the purges began and almost no one associated with DI, the 77th or Group XII survived. The school was finished. ... Today, there are only 3 former Group XII cadets in CAP, and one of them had nothing to do with DI."

All too often when the driving force behind an idea goes away - in this case the death of the Colonel, the idea dies as well. This despite the best intentions of everyone involved.

Another problem that often crops up is resistance to big change. When there is change around or under you, fighting it is futile; you either change with the times our you become obsolete - and then extinct.

We can speculate that without the Colonel's guiding and uniting presence there simply wasn't a powerful enough personality to continue his program. We can also speculate if political infighting or refusal to change lead to the 'purges' mentioned. But these are just speculations; the few who were there either aren't talking or simply weren't privvy to the high-level decisions.

What we do know for sure is that despite the positive tone of the letter, the activity mentioned (the Winter Survival Encampment) never happened and the Michigan Wing Ranger Program was no more...

View the actual document...

1982 SEARCH and RESCUE SCHOOL
Edward W. Keehn SAR Training Center
Civil Air Patrol/USAFX
General Delivery - Pickup
Drummond Island, MI. 49726

DATE: 20 August 1982
To All Drummond Island SAR Trng Cntr GRADUATES
FROM: Office of the Commander
SUBJECT: Followup of the 1982 Encampment

First and foremost CONGRATULATIONS to the 1982 graduates of the EWK SAR Training Center School/Encampment.....

It is with remorse that I have to anounce to all of you that as of 2400 18 August 1982, Goup XII has been discontinued on the roles [sic] of the Michigan Wing...however I am EXCITED to announce that we have been merged with Group XI and are now the largest group in the Wing - WE ARE NOW GROUP II (and I am counting on each and everyone [sic] of you to make it the number one Group in the Wing.)

I have been assured by Col PAULSON the Wing Commander that the DI SAR Training RANGER program will not be discontinued, it will only become better.

Our new Group Commander is LTC Maury CREEGAR, there will be no changes whatsoever at the Squadron level.

I have been asked to be the Executive Officer of the Eastern Sector and I have also been appointed as the temporary Commandant of the current ongoing Michigan (Ranger) SAR Program.

WE ARE CURRENTLY SETTING INTO MOTION THE PLANS AND PROGRAM FOR THE 1982 WINTER SURVIVAL ENCAMPMENT, which is Phase II of the Drummond Island Training that you have just graduated from. This Encampment is tantatively [sic] scheduled for Camp Peletier and will be held either during your Thanksgiving or Christmas Break...WATCH FOR MORE DETAILS IN THE MAIL !!!!

This Encampment is tentatively scheduled to last for (1) one week, and will include a training schedule of Search and Rescue/ as well as EMERGENCY survival tenchiques UNDER FRIGID-TYPE conditions.

BERETS and FLASHES FOR SALE: (if you have been unable to locate them you can get them by ordering w/payment from the following)

Joes' Army Navy Surplus
951 West Huron
Pontiac,Michigan 48053

BERETS-$11.70 ea
Postage/Handling-$2.50
FLASH-$1.35 ea
------------
$15.55

(NOTE: These prices are 10% below retail)

If there are any comments or anything that I can help you with,at any time,please feel free to drop me a line.

(signed)
PATRICK D. CRONK,Capt/Cmdr

Editor's note: Despite the fact that this is the last piece of documentation recovered concerning DI and that the program was never continued, this is not the end of Drummond Island:Declassified. CadetStuff.org's series has brought people out of hiding, ready to break the silence of twenty years and to talk frankly about what happened at DI; what went wrong and - especially - what went right.

Stay tuned...

Editor's note: The activities described in this series happened during a different period in the history of CAP & the nation. With this in mind, please use good judgment while reading the accounts presented here: consider their historical context and the onus of current Civil Air Patrol regulations. CadetStuff neither condones nor condemns the activities of the 77th Ranger Support Unit; we are merely reporting them in the context of what we can learn from past events and experiences.

Readers who choose to hardcopy this document are entitled to specific rights, namely: you may print this off and read it repeatedly until you have memorized it and then rattle it off as if you had thought it up yourself; but if anyone asks you - or if you have to actually pull this printed copy out of your pocket to read from - then you are required under Law (Jude Law, that is. Y'know, the English guy in "Gattica"?) to say, "This was on CadetStuff.org and I stole it like it ain't no thang!" and then do the River Dance.