Missions of CAP

CAP's cadet program trains young men and women in teamwork, moral leadership, aerospace education, technical skills to support emergency services, and military history and customs. Through national encampments, a college and flight training scholarship program, and the International Air Cadet Exchange, CAP cadets broaden their horizons, learn to assume responsibility, feel self-confidence and set goals for their lives.

Civil Air Patrol builds strong citizens for the future by providing leadership training, technical education, scholarships and career education to young men and women, ages 12 to 21. Civil Air Patrol offers more than $200,000 in college scholarships each year, and about 10 percent of each year’s freshman class at the U.S. Air Force Academy is comprised of former CAP cadets. Thousands of young people have their first orientation flights through the cadet program, and hundreds have soloed in gliders and powered aircraft. Tens of thousands have attended CAP encampments throughout the nation. They may learn techniques for search and rescue and disaster relief. They may sample possible career choices by studying with a university engineering or technology department. They may learn teamwork and leadership through competitions in problem-solving and physical endurance. Cadets can enjoy overseas travel through the International Air Cadet Exchange, and CAP families can welcome foreign exchange students into their homes here in the states.

For non-CAP members, the CAP School Program fills the gap between elementary school DARE and high school ROTC. CAP members, including cadets, volunteer their time in public schools, teaching respect, manners and personal accountability in a drug-free environment.

CAP maintains both internal and external aerospace education programs. CAP members, both adults and cadets, follow a rigorous program to learn about aviation and aerospace principles. CAP also reaches out to the general public through a special program for teachers at all grade levels. Through this program, CAP provides free classroom materials and lesson plans for aerospace education and each year sponsors the premier national conference in this field.

Civil Air Patrol promotes and supports aerospace education, both for its own members and the general public. Such education helps prepare American citizens to meet the challenges of a sophisticated aerospace society and understand its related issues. Teachers can get free classroom materials and lesson plans from CAP by joining CAP’s Aerospace Education Membership program. All CAP materials meet national standards.

CAP joins with the U.S. Air Force each year in sponsoring the National Congress on Aviation and Space Education, (NCASE) the nation’s premier conference in this field. There, educators from across the country learn how to use aviation and space themes in a variety of subject areas. CAP has sponsored NCASE since 1967 and its programs reach more than 50,000 students each year.

Best known for its work in search and rescue and disaster relief missions, CAP is expanding its role in the 21st century to include an increasing number of homeland security operations and exercises. CAP members undergo rigorous training to perform these missions safely and cost-effectively. Search and rescue remains an important service provided by CAP members. CAP still flies 95 percent of all federal inland SAR missions, as directed by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) at Langley AFB, Va. CAP also supports the Joint Rescue Coordination Centers in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. On average, each year CAP members fly more than 100,000 hours in operational missions and save about 100 lives. CAP provides air and ground support for disaster relief, flying officials to remote locations, transporting blood or live tissue to critical care sites and performing aerial damage assessment.

CAP has one of the largest unified communications networks in the country, available 24/7. In 1986, Congress authorized CAP to assist government and law enforcement agencies in the fight to eliminate illicit drug use, production and sale in the US and its territories. CAP now provides reconnaissance, communications and transportation for counterdrug missions. CAP missions succeed through a seamless interplay of technology and teamwork. With new developments like satellite imagery and internet-based reporting,

CAP is emerging as the resource of choice to support our nation's strategy for homeland security.