At this time, the story is due to air one night this week (Jan. 19 – 21, 2005) at around 7 or 8 p.m. EST on CNN.

The segment was filmed last week in Louisiana and focuses on CAP’s work in homeland security, showing how our civilian volunteers with busy careers take time to serve their communities as CAP members. The segment emphasizes the importance of CAP’s work and the training required to perform it.

The story follows LAWG member and attorney Colonel Rock Palermo, CAP, as he flies a target intercept mission for the Air Force in the Gippsland GA8 Airvan, and then shows him in his professional life as an attorney in private practice.

This story is especially significant because CAP and the Air Force worked together through official channels and obtained permission for CNN to actually accompany CAP on the mission itself. Under clearly defined security restrictions, CNN was able to film the intercept by F15 fighter jets as well as the CAP Cessna 182 that served as high bird for the mission. This is a first for CAP, and is testimony to the good working relationship CAP has established with 1st Air Force.

After filming the mission in the New Orleans area, CNN traveled to Lake Charles, La., to film Palermo at work in his law office. The CNN crew spent some seven hours on the road from New Orleans to Lake Charles just to obtain this footage.

In all, filming took three days and included interviews not only with Palermo, but also with other CAP members, including the mission flight crews.