MAXWELL AFB, Ala. — The Vermont Wing of Civil Air Patrol will help show the effectiveness of Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) during the first U.S. activation in Waterbury, Vt., 9 a.m. July 1, the first day PLBs will become available for public purchase and use.

The pocket-sized PLBs are the ground version of Emergency Locator Transmitters used on aircraft. People can use them when they are lost or in distress to transmit the coordinates of their whereabouts to search and rescue agencies. The beacons transmit via 406 MHz with accuracy down to an approximately two to six square-mile radius. The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is setting up an integrated computer alerting system in the 48 contiguous states, Alaska and nine national parks to support the PLBs.

The state of Vermont will be the first to accept PLB alerts. The AFRCC, NOAA and the Vermont State Police will demonstrate the new national system.  An “injured” Boy Scout will activate a PLB, which will emit a distress signal. Once the signal is picked up, the Vermont State Police will request CAP Vermont Wing members through the AFRCC to help find the injured Scout, just as they would with a real distress signal. CAP responders will identify and then fly to the coordinates reported by the PLB, visually confirm the Scout’s location, and remain in the air above the area until the Vermont State Police ground crew can physically “rescue” the Scout.

The PLBs generate coordinates by using the same COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system currently used to locate aircraft and ships.

“This technology represents a tremendous leap forward in capability for us,” said Col. Richard Greenhut, the commander of CAP’s 9-state Northeast Region. “It has the potential to save precious hours when trying to pinpoint the location of a lost or injured hiker or downed aircraft.  With it and our existing airborne and hand-held DF (Direction Finding) gear, we can quickly find our target and help direct appropriate assistance, whether it be the Vermont State Police or our own ground team.”

“The use of PLBs in Vermont will be a tremendous aid in locating distressed people,” said Col. James Rowell, commander of CAP’s Vermont Wing. “Vermont is a rugged mountainous state with year-round activities for hikers, backpackers and skiers. Sometimes hikers and backpackers get lost, and skiers leave trails looking for greater adventure and get into serious trouble. Use of the PLB system will without a doubt save valuable search and rescue response time and improve our chances of saving lives as we work with the Vermont State Police on SAR missions.”

Civil Air Patrol, the official Air Force auxiliary, is a nonprofit organization with more than 64,000 members nationwide. It performs 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the AFRCC. Volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 27,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 60 years.