Civil Air Patrol


Civil Air Patrol is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force. CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded membership that includes members from all backgrounds. The program is established as an organization by Title 10 of the United States Code and its purposes defined by Title 36.
Membership in the organization consists of cadets ranging from 12 to just under 21 years of age, and senior members 18 years of age and up. These two groups each have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of pursuits; the cadet program contributes to the development of the former group with a structured syllabus and an organization based upon United States Air Force ranks, while the older members serve as instructors, supervisors, and operators. Most members wear uniforms while performing their duties. However, there is a category of Aerospace Education Member available to educators and these AEMs do not wear uniforms or attend meetings, but take advantage of professionally generated textbooks, lesson plans and other CAP-provided resources, in their capacity as educators.
Nationwide, CAP is a major operator of single-engine general aviation aircraft used in the execution of its various missions, including orientation flights for cadets and the provision of significant emergency services capabilities. Because of these extensive flying opportunities, many CAP members become licensed pilots.
The hierarchical and military auxiliary organization is headed by the National Headquarters followed by eight regional commands and 52 wings. Each wing supervises the individual groups and squadrons that comprise the basic operational unit of the organization.

History

Civil Air Patrol was conceived in the late 1930s by aviation advocate Gill Robb Wilson, who foresaw general aviation's potential to supplement America's military operations. With the help of New York mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, in his capacity as then-Director of the Office of Civilian Defense, CAP was created with Administrative Order 9, signed by LaGuardia on 1 December 1941 and published 8 December 1941. Civil Air Patrol had 90 days to prove itself to Congress. Major General John F. Curry was appointed as the first national commander. Texas oilman David Harold Byrd was a co-founder of CAP.
During World War II, CAP was seen as a way to use America's civilian aviation resources to aid the war effort instead of grounding them. The organization assumed many missions, including anti-submarine patrol and warfare, border patrols, and courier services. CAP's coastal patrol reportedly flew 24 million miles and sighted 173 enemy U-boats, dropping a total of 82 bombs and depth charges during the conflict. Two submarines were reportedly destroyed by CAP aircraft, but later research found there was no basis for this claim. By the end of the war, 68 CAP members had died in the line of duty.
With the passing of the National Security Act of 1947 and the creation of the United States Air Force, CAP became the auxiliary of the USAF 26 May 1948, and its incorporating charter declared that it would never again be involved in direct combat activities, but would be of a nonviolent nature. The "supervisory" USAF organization overseeing CAP has changed several times. This has included the former Continental Air Command in 1959, the former Headquarters Command, USAF in 1968, to the Air University in 1976. Following Air University's reassignment as a subordinate command to the Air Education and Training Command in 1993, USAF oversight of CAP has flowed from AETC at the 4-star level, to AU at the 3-star level, to AU's Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accessions and Citizen Development at the 1-star level, to a subordinate unit of 1st Air Force at the 3-star level with Civil Air Patrol–U.S. Air Force as a stand-alone unit lead at the Colonel level. Since its incorporation charter, CAP has maintained its relationship with the USAF and has continued its three congressionally mandated missions.
On 14 June 2011, Civil Air Patrol was awarded the Roving Ambassador of Peace by the World Peace Prize Awarding Council for its positive impact in American communities, its lifesaving efforts, and for "preserving liberty for all". During the 113th United States Congress, both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that would award the Congressional Gold Medal to the World War II members of Civil Air Patrol. The medal would be presented "in recognition of their military service and exemplary record during World War II."
In October 2021, Civil Air Patrol was awarded the Master's Trophy for the North America Region for that year by the Honourable Company of Air Pilots. The award citation noted the auxiliary's service during the COVID-19 pandemic and disaster relief response to Hurricane Ida.

Organization

Although a civilian organization, Civil Air Patrol is organized along military lines, with a streamlined and strictly hierarchical chain of command and a rank system patterned on that of the U.S. Air Force. There are several distinct echelons in its structure: National Headquarters, regions, wings, squadrons and flights. An additional group echelon may be placed between a wing and its squadrons and flights, at the wing commander's discretion.

National headquarters

The volunteer leaders of the CAP include the National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol and their staff, comprising a National Vice Commander, a chief of staff, a national legal officer, a national comptroller, the chief of the CAP Chaplain Service, and the CAP inspector general. The national commander holds the grade of CAP major general, the national vice commander holds the grade of CAP brigadier general. The rest of the national commander's staff hold the grade of CAP colonel.
CAP is governed by a board of governors, established by federal law in 2001 and consisting of 11 members: four Civil Air Patrol members, four U.S. Air Force representatives appointed by the United States secretary of the Air Force, and three members from the aviation community jointly appointed by the CAP national commander and the Secretary of the Air Force. The board of governors generally meets two or three times annually and primarily provides strategic vision and guidance to the volunteer leadership and to corporate staff.
CAP National Headquarters, located at Maxwell Air Force Base outside Montgomery, Alabama, employs a professional staff of over 100 and is led by the CAP executive director, who reports to the board of governors. The national headquarters staff provides program management for the organization and membership support for the 1,700-plus volunteer field units across the United States.
Headquarters Civil Air Patrol-U.S. Air Force is an active-duty U.S. Air Force unit that operates under the joint jurisdiction of CAP National Headquarters and the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command, First Air Force. Commanded by an aeronautically rated Air Force colonel, Headquarters CAP-USAF consists of approximately 23 active-duty military and civilian U.S. Air Force personnel; all of the Air Force civil-service personnel at CAP-USAF are also CAP members, staffing CAP-USAF. These members ensure CAP is organized, trained, and equipped to fulfill Air Force-assigned missions; advise, assist, and oversee Civil Air Patrol's operations; and provide liaison between CAP and the U.S. Air Force and other United States government agencies., the commander of CAP-USAF is Colonel Aaron Reid, USAF and the commanding NCO is CMSGT Shane Williams.

Regions and wings

Below the national headquarters level are eight geographic regions and a handful of overseas squadrons at various military installations worldwide. Each region, commanded by a CAP colonel, encompasses several statewide organizations referred to as wings. There are 52 CAP wings, one in each of the 50 U.S. states, one in the District of Columbia, and one in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Each wing has a commander who is a CAP colonel and is the sole corporate officer for that state, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico. Each wing commander oversees a wing headquarters staff made up of experienced volunteer members.
The regions and their subordinate wings are:
CAP-USAF assigns active-duty U.S. Air Force personnel to each CAP region and wing to provide liaison for them.

Groups

The group is an optional level of command in CAP below that of wing. A wing commander may form a group within his or her wing when he or she deems a geographic area or the number of subordinate units to be too large for effective control by the wing alone. If a CAP group is formed, it must include no fewer than five squadrons.

Squadrons

Local units are called squadrons. Squadrons are the main functioning bodies and primary operational commands in the CAP. Reporting directly to the wing, or to a group if the wing commander chooses to form one or more groups, squadrons have the responsibility to carry out plans and programs formulated by higher echelons of CAP.
Civil Air Patrol squadrons are designated as either cadet, senior, or composite squadrons. A CAP composite squadron consists of both cadets and senior members, who may be involved in any of the three missions of CAP. Composite squadrons have two deputy commanders to assist the squadron commander: a Deputy Commander for Seniors and a Deputy Commander for Cadets. A senior squadron includes only senior members, who participate in the emergency services or aerospace education missions of CAP. A cadet squadron is largely made up of cadets, with a small number of senior members as necessary for the supervision of cadets and the proper execution of the cadet program. Overseas squadrons operate independently of this structure, reporting directly to the National Headquarters.