
Civil Air Patrol
Allentown Squadron
- NJ082
Growing from its World War II experience, the
Civil Air Patrol has continued to save lives and alleviate human suffering
through a myriad of emergency-services and operational missions.
Search and Rescue
Perhaps
best known for its search-and-rescue efforts, CAP flies more than 85 percent of
all federal inland search-and-rescue missions directed by the Air Force Rescue
Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fl. Outside the continental
United States, CAP supports the Joint Rescue Coordination Centers in Alaska,
Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Just how effective are the CAP missions? Nearly 100
people are saved each year by CAP members.
Disaster Relief
Another important service CAP performs is disaster-relief operations. CAP
provides air and ground transportation and an extensive communications network.
Volunteer members fly disaster-relief officials to remote locations and provide
manpower and leadership to local, state and national disaster-relief
organizations. CAP has formal agreements with many government and humanitarian
relief agencies including the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management
Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board
and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Humanitarian
Services
CAP flies humanitarian missions, usually in support of the Red
Cross-transporting time-sensitive medical materials including blood and human
tissue, in situations where other means of transportation are not available.
Air Force Support
It's hardly surprising that CAP performs several missions in direct support of
the U.S. Air Force. Specifically, CAP conducts light transport, communications
support, and low-altitude route surveys. CAP also provides orientation flights
for AFROTC cadets. Joint U.S. Air Force and CAP search-and-rescue exercises
provide realistic training for missions.
Counterdrug
CAP joined the "war on drugs" in 1986 when, pursuant to congressional
authorization, CAP signed an agreement with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Customs
Service offering CAP resources to help stem the flow of drugs into and within
the United States.

Just
remember who began protecting our coasts during World War 2!
Webmaster: Lt Col Greg Putnam
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