Who We Are

Civil Air Patrol is congressionally chartered and operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. CAP performs services for the federal government as the official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and performs other missions as a nonprofit organization. CAP is made up of eight geographic regions consisting of 52 wings (the 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia). It is a strategic partner of the Air Force, serving as a member of its Total Force. CAP has three primary missions — Emergency Services, Cadet Programs and Aerospace Education.

Our Mission: Supporting America’s communities with emergency response, diverse aviation and ground services, youth development, and promotion of air, space and cyber power.

BY THE NUMBERS

• 130 lives saved through Air Force-assigned search and rescue efforts in fiscal 2020, thanks in large part to the assistance of CAP’s National Cell Phone Forensics and Radar Analysis teams. 

• 560 Operates one of the largest fleets of single-engine piston aircraft in the world, with 560 planes.

• 19,184 orientation flights for CAP, Air Force ROTC and Air Force Junior ROTC cadets.

• 1,435 squadrons and 59,268 volunteer youth and adult members nationwide.

• 70,919 hours flown in 2020, conducting Air Force assigned missions as well as support for states and local communities.

• 500,000 K-12 students nationwide were impacted through CAP’s STEM Kit program.

• $2.4 Million Using $2.4 million from the Air Force to provide CAP cadet training aimed at helping reduce the nation’s pilot shortage.

• $193,721,863 in volunteer hours of service.