Founded in 1941 and established as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force seven years later, Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was chartered by Congress as a non-profit organization for the purposes of youth development, aerospace education, and to promote general aviation. In an auxiliary role as a Total Force partner of the Air Force, CAP operates the world’s largest fleet of single-engine aircraft for search and rescue, disaster relief, training, and education.
Civil Air Patrol’s three missions are emergency services, cadet programs, and aerospace education. Pursuant to these missions, the cadet program is unlike any other community youth program, as they have resources, tradition, training, education, and flight opportunities unlike any other youth program. For the period of May 2022 through May 2023, 75 CAP Cadets earned their Private Pilot Certificate through the Cadet Wings program, funded by the U.S. Air Force and other funding partners.
With no obligation to join the military, CAP weaves military traditions into leadership training, confidence building, character development, physical fitness, aerospace education, cyberspace activities, and other experiences that have proven to change the trajectory of lives for youth ages 12-18.
The Sullivan County Cadet Squadron meets every Thursday night from 6:15-8:30 p.m. on the second floor of Hangar 7. They welcome visitors and potential recruits and would love to share the details of their program with you.
To contact the Sullivan County Squadron directly, please follow them on Facebook, at Sullivan County Squadron-Civil Air Patrol, or email claire.sullivan557@gmail.com or williamwinfieldmason@hotmail.com. For more information on CAP itself, please visit GoCivilAirPatrol.com.