Tonight we learned about the Civil Air Patrol, something that many of us didn’t know a lot about. First Cecil Engles explained how this all-volunteer group was founded in 1941, earlier than the Air Force, for homeland defense. It used 60 hp unarmed planes to protect our ships off the Florida coast from German subs. The patrol has grown to be the 5th largest air force in the world. Today is does 95% of the search and rescue for lost downed aircraft. There is a squadron in every state and territory. 

Next, Scott James, a private pilot for 20 years, talked about his 4 years with the patrol, mostly with search and rescue. Besides SAR, they also do disaster relief by photographing earthquake sites, hurricane areas, and the like to assess damage. A second program is the Cadet Patrol for 12 to 18 year-olds who learn leadership, accountability, and moral training by participating in the ground operations of search and rescue under the supervision of adult members. About 8% of them later become Air Force candidates. 

Jeff Wilson explained that a third part of their program is aerospace education. He was in the cadet program and received an ROTC scholarship to the U of A because of this training. Jeff explained that, when requested by other agencies, their work can also involve searches for lost hikers, hunters, or disoriented people who wander off. The patrol is always looking for volunteers to train for various roles in ground or air operations. The group meets Tues. evening twice a month in Fort Smith. More info is available at: www.gocivilairpatrol.com . A big thank you to Cecil, Scott and Jeff for their presentation.