About CAP

Civil Air Patrol is a private, nonprofit corporation chartered under a special act of Congress. Additionally, CAP is the auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force when it performs Air Force assigned missions.

CAP performs three main missions: Aerospace Education, Cadet Programs, and Emergency Services.

•  Aerospace Education CAP builds enthusiasm for aviation and space through its aerospace education programs. CAP’s cadets and adult members learn about aviation history and the scientific principles that make flight possible. Conferences, textbooks, websites, and activity guides are available to CAP members. The public benefits from CAP’s aerospace education programs as well, since CAP provides educators at all grade levels with resources to incorporate aviation, space, and technology themes into their school curriculum.

•  Cadet Programs Through CAP’s Cadet Program, young people from age 12 to 20 develop into responsible citizens and are inspired to become tomorrow’s aerospace leaders. The program is organized around five elements: leadership, aerospace, fitness, character, and activities. As cadets participate in these five elements, they progress through a series of sixteen achievements, earning honors and increased responsibilities along the way. Adult volunteers supervise the cadets and help them develop leadership skills. CAP inspires in youth a love of aviation and strives to equip them with the discipline and skills they will need to succeed in adult life.

•  Emergency Services Best known for its members’ 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 and counterdrug missions and is incorporating digital and hyperspectral imaging technology into its lifesaving work. CAP members undergo rigorous training to perform safe and cost effective
  missions, serving as pilots, communicators, ground team members, and numerous other roles.

CAP is organized into regions, wings, squadrons. Regions are the largest and highest organization in rank. There are 8 regions, each comprised of several wings located in a geographic area of the United States. There are 52 wings in CAP, one for each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. A wing is comprised of the wing headquarters and all squadrons and flights within its geographical boundaries. The squadron is the community-level organization of CAP and its basic operational unit. This is the "grassroots" level of CAP, and as such, squadrons are essential in fulfilling CAP missions.