Our History Civil Air Patrol was conceived in the late 1930s by legendary New Jersey aviation advocate Gill Robb Wilson, who foresaw aviation's role in war and general aviation's potential to supplement America's military operations. With the help of New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, the new Civil Air Patrol was established on December 1, 1941, just days before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The CAP insignia, a red three-bladed propeller in the Civil Defense white-triangle-in-blue-circle, began appearing on private aircraft everywhere. CAP initially planned only on liaison and reconnaissance flying, but the civilian group's mission expanded when German submarines began to prey on American ships off the coast of the United States and CAP planes began carrying bombs and depth charges." A CAP crew first interrupted a sub attack on a flight out of Rehoboth Beach, saving a tanker off Cape May, N.J. Since radio calls for military bombers were often unproductive, unarmed CAP fliers dived in mock attacks to force subs to break and run. The CAP coastal patrol flew 24 million miles, found 173 submarines, attacked 57, hit 10 and sank two. By Presidential Executive Order, CAP became an auxiliary of the Army Air Forces in 1943. A German commander later confirmed that coastal U-boat operations were withdrawn from the United States "because of those damned little red and yellow airplanes." In all, CAP flew a half-million hours during the war, and 64 CAP aviators lost their lives in the line of duty. The U.S. Air Force was created as an independent armed service in 1947, and CAP was designated as its official civilian auxiliary the following year. To the Students If you want to do something with your spare time that really matters... If you want to learn new technical skills that will help you in the future... If you want to become a leader and grow stronger and smarter... Civil Air Patrol’s cadet program could be for you! Spend your spare time with like-minded guys and girls, ages 12 to 21, doing volunteer work that really helps your community. At Civil Air Patrol’s weekly meetings, you’ll learn teamwork and leadership skills that will serve you from now on. As you progress through CAP’s multi-level cadet training, you’ll learn the principles of aviation and aerospace flight. You’ll learn about rocketry and physics through hands-on experiments. You can even get a taste of military life, and learn about military history, customs, drills and inspection. You could end up in one of the top squads in the nation if you advance to the most elite competition for CAP cadets, National Cadet Competition. CAP offers national cadet encampments with activities in emergency services, engineering, technology, physical fitness, teambuilding and flight training. You can even visit foreign countries through the International Air Cadet Exchange. Thanks to good preparation and valuable scholarships, many CAP cadets go on to careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. Some pursue technical degrees and others go on to one of the nation’s prestigious military academies. Each year, at least 10 percent of the freshman class at the U.S. Air Force Academy is made up of former CAP cadets. Let your imagination take flight - see what you can become as a member of Civil Air Patrol.

The above info is courtesy of the Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters at http://www.cap.gov/. Copyright © 2004 Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters. All Rights Reserved