Mankato Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol

The Civil Air Patrol is an all-volunteer organization with 57,000 members nationwide. CAP is divided into 8 geographic regions and 52 wings with over 1,700 units throughout the country and abroad. As the civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force, CAP executes over 90% of all federal inland search and rescue missions. CAP also runs the foremost youth leadership development program in the country - the CAP Cadet Program.

The Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters (NHQ) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Visit them on the web at:

     www.cap.gov

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.

As chartered by the United States Congress, the Civil Air Patrol has three primary missions:

• Emergency Service
• Aerospace Education
• Cadet Programs

For a quick snapshot of CAP's assets, see the CAP Fact Sheet (2006).

• 57,000 Volunteers
• 540 Aircraft
• 950 Vehicles
• 4,500 VHF Radios
• 1,250 HF Radios
• 188 Chaplains