About the Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol was
founded in December 1941, one week before the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor, by more than 150,000 citizens who were concerned about the defense of America's coastline.
Under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Forces, CAP pilots flew more
than one-half million hours, were credited with sinking two enemy
submarines and rescued hundreds of crash survivors during World War II.
On July 1, 1946, President Harry Truman established CAP as a federally
chartered benevolent civilian corporation, and Congress passed Public
Law 557 on May 26, 1948, making CAP the auxiliary of the new U.S. Air
Force.
CAP's three primary missions are:
THE
CORPORATION
• Classified as a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation
• Operates as the all-volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force
• Includes eight geographic regions consisting of 52 wings (each of the
50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia)
• Includes approximately 1,500 units nationwide
• Currently has nearly 57,000 members
• Operates one of the largest fleets of single-engine piston aircraft
in the world, with 535 currently in the fleet
• Flies, through volunteer members, nearly 120,000 hours each year
• Maintains fleet of 1,000 emergency services vehicles for training and
mission support
• Provides counseling and ministry to CAP cadets and senior members
through some 900 service personnel
• Supports members with about 100 corporate staff at the CAP National
Headquarters at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
Also see:
ANNAPOLIS SQUADRON HISTORY PAGE