Who We Are

Established in 1941, Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a public service organization chartered by Congress that functions both as a nonprofit and the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.

Operating as a nonprofit, CAP provides an array of K-12 aerospace and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curriculum and educational products for members and teachers; offers youth character, leadership, and career development opportunities; and provides essential community service for federal, state, and local agencies in the air and on the ground.

In its capacity as the auxiliary of the Air Force, CAP operates the world’s largest fleet of single-engine aircraft. The Air Force assigns missions to the auxiliary to facilitate 90% of the inland search and rescue missions in the United States searching for missing or overdue aircraft, lost or injured hikers, stranded boaters, missing persons, and more.

Under its charter and public laws, CAP performs a variety of emergency and operational missions on demand for federal, state, and local agencies as requested through the National Operations Center (NOC) at Maxwell Air Force Base. The NOC can be reached at opscenter@capnhq.gov or 888-211-1812.

Civil Air Patrol’s mission statement is “Volunteers Serving America’s Communities, Saving Lives, and Shaping Futures.” This encompasses the organization’s three major programs: emergency services, aerospace education, and cadet programs.

The origins of the Civil Air Patrol story began in 1936 when Gill Robb Wilson, World War I aviator and New Jersey director of aeronautics, returned from Germany convinced of impending war. Wilson envisioned mobilizing America’s civilian aviators for national defense.

The proposal for a Civil Air Patrol was approved by Commerce, Navy, and War departments and CAP national headquarters opened its doors Dec. 1. In January 1942, U-boats started attacking the shipping lanes along our east coast. By June, enemy attacks destroyed nearly 400 merchant vessels and oil tankers off the U.S. Atlantic coastline, often within sight of our shores.

Civil Air Patrol was called into action by a short-handed military. With privately owned airplanes armed with light bombs, civilian volunteers became the eyes of the home skies, flying a total of 244,600 hours patrolling and safeguarding America's coastline, aiding the safe movement of war material to the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific.

Today’s Civil Air Patrol may look different, but its core remains the same. It continues to support America’s communities with emergency response, diverse aviation and ground services, youth development and promotion of air, space and cyber power.

In line with the regions are the CAP-USAF Liaison Regions, which are active-duty Air Force offices that provide advice, assistance, and oversight of CAP regions and wings through their respective commanders. At the national-level, CAP‐USAF maintains its headquarters at Maxwell AFB along with CAP’s National Headquarters. The CAP-USAF commander commands all civil service and military members of the U.S. Air Force who are assigned to CAP-USAF (including Air Force personnel at the region liaison offices). The CAP‐USAF commander reports to the commander of First Air Force, who reports to the commander of Air Combat Command.

Civil Air Patrol’s Board of Governors is established by Title 10, United States Code (U.S.C.), as the governing body of CAP. It directs and manages the affairs of the corporation. The activities of the 11-member Board of Governors are described in the CAP Constitution and Bylaws and other CAP publications and include selecting, retaining, and removing the National Commander/Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer.

Volunteers Serving America’s Communities, Saving Lives, and Shaping Futures.