Civil Air Patrol provides service to the Nation under three missions:

CADET PROGRAMS
Serving America Today, by Developing the Leaders of Tomorrow

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. At a national encampment, CAP cadets gather from 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 more Information on the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program go here

PARENTS: Here is a special page just for you!  

AEROSPACE EDUCATION
Teaching Ordinary Subjects in Extraordinary Ways

Civil Air Patrol (CAP) promotes and supports aerospace education, both for its own members and the general public. CAP educational programs help prepare American citizens to meet the challenges of a sophisticated aerospace society and understand its related issues. CAP offers national standards-based educational products, including a secondary textbook, Aerospace: The Journey of Flight, and the middle-school-level Aerospace Dimensions. Teachers can get free classroom materials and lesson plans from CAP by joining CAP’s Aerospace Education Membership program. We have at least one aerospace class a month where cadets learn about aerospace history, aircraft, and basic ground school topics. We also build and launch model rockets and try to keep all of the AE classes fun and interactive.  Additionally, a number of Orientation Flights in CAP aircraft are offered at no cost to cadets.

More Information on CAP's  Aerospace Education Mission including information for educators

CAP EMERGENCY SERVICES
Supporting Our Communities in Times of Need

While CAP has long been associated with search and rescue missions, its work also includes disaster relief and communications, as well as counter drug and homeland security missions. Search and rescue remains an important service provided by CAP members, however. CAP still flies 95 percent of all federal inland SAR missions, as directed by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) 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. While some of our missions will never change, the events of September 11, 2001 changed the way CAP operates forever. Along with all of the missions listed above, Civil Air Patrol is now tasked to provide support to Northern Command, the Air Force, FEMA, the Red Cross, or any other federal, state and local government agencies that requires our special skills.

More Information on CAP's Emergency Services including detailed information for pilots