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A Wing and a Prayer: Michigan’s Heroic Response to a Really Cool Ice Storm

In a daring mission of epic proportions, members of the Michigan Wing have been heroically devoting all available daylight hours since last week to bravely assessing damage from the March 28 ice storm that had the audacity to chill most of northern Michigan into a frosty wonderland. Before you could say “jack frost,” Emmet County, clearly craving the spotlight, requested the Michigan Wing and their band of merry helpers to evaluate road and waterway conditions. The wing swooped in faster than a snowball downhill with a heroic response that included:

  • Aircrews scanning waterways for errant logs that dared defy the flow,
  • Small Unmanned Aircraft System teams squinting at power lines, ensuring they were sufficiently icy,
  • And, ground teams in cozy vans, valiantly searching for any debris that had the audacity to obstruct roadways.

Wing members didn’t stop there; they joined forces with the Michigan State Police’s air support unit, ensuring Beaver Island was given a thorough aerial once-over, lest any rogue snowflakes be left unassessed. At the behest of the Michigan National Guard, naturally.

“One of the main focuses of Civil Air Patrol is disaster relief,” declared Lt. Col. Sheila M. Cerny, the mission’s illustrious incident commander and Michigan Wing’s assistant director of operations, also known as the heroine of this icy saga. “Our members, including the ones delightfully snowed in from Harbor Springs to Alanson, have been out here for days, armed with cameras and sunscreen, capturing those ‘just how cold is it’ damage assessment photos and video. These vital contributions assist local county emergency operations centers and the Michigan State Police in identifying hazards and minimizing the risks to the obliviously cozy communities.”

“In the end, we’re just thrilled to be part of this team effort, uniting against the menace of melted power lines and restoring a semblance of power and normalcy to the chilly residents,” Cerny beamed.

Serving proudly as a Total Force partner and the Air Force’s trusty auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol, like the caped crusader of storms, swoops in to help First Air Force quickly respond to nonmilitary threats within the homeland. Their mission is clear: save lives, relieve suffering, prevent property damage, and provide humanitarian assistance—ideally before teatime.

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