 The Civil Air Patrol provides the majority of the Air Force's inland search and rescue. Over the weekend, cadets in Bemidji got some hands-on training on survival skills. Hedy Clodder has more. The Civil Air Patrol knows what to do to survive in the woods. For 72 hours, cadets trained and prepared themselves in different winter survival scenarios at the Grand Creek Horse Camp. We have about 54 cadets and senior members out here practicing what it's like to do search and rescue operations in Minnesota climates. Staff does help them out by melting the snow so cadets can have water and building a campfire. After that, cadets are on their own for food, clothing and other mission equipment. They're getting an idea of what somebody who is out in the field might try to do in order to affect their survival, but also learning about the conditions and their limitations when they're conducting operations. As far as sleeping arrangements, cadets are responsible for their own shelter. Some are made up of tarp, duct tape and tied up on a tree with string. We have a nice bonfire, so if you get cold, go over there. And then that, you have to build your own shelter. And I'd say it was a pretty fun experience. Grounds Branch Director conducts Grounds Operations. The radio person communicates between the teams. William Morgan was inspired to join the Civil Air Patrol because of his passion and is on his first survival trip. I got really obsessed with airplanes for a while in elementary school. And I learned from one of my mom's friends that the Civil Air Patrol was, like, all about planes and stuff like that and did a search and rescue. The emergency locator transmitter is a beacon that sounds off when a plane crashes and hikers or campers use it as a personal locator. Members worked as a team to find it. We're waiting for our team and then we're going to go on another mission. Cadets are divided into six teams to conduct tasks and are led by skilled people to help them advance in their qualifications. In Bemidji, Haiti-Claude, Lakeland News. Several squadrons from the state also participated in the winter survival weekend. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.