Civil Air Patrol (CAP)

[Lukanian-7]

Hi, I'm curious if anyone here is, or has been, in the civil air patrol?

One of my friend wants to go to an air academy instead of school to join the Air Force next year, and i reccommended the CAP? Anyone think that's a good idea?

[1pLUs44]

Friend of mine named Jeb does it. He says you get basically all you're gonna see in the armed forces regarding leadership. You'll get some of the best leaders you'll ever meet, then, you'll get the ones who couldn't distinguish a red ball from a car. I think he said you also do a lot of search and rescue stuff? I'm not entirely sure on the part of it regarding flying or any of that though.

[Barnes828]

I was in CAP for a little while, its a great idea if hes applying for any military academy.  gives you an idea of what the structure of the military is like in terms of rank and a few other things. Also a good idea if your interested in flying. They give you 5 Free Cessna Flights and 5 Free Glider Flights.

[EagleEyes]

You can email my dad, hes got all the low down on CAP.  He was a group leader back in Minnesota.  Very into it.  Email him at Robertrgoodman@yahoo.com


He'll give ya any and all info that you want!


 


Hope to join a squad when we finally get one around my area!

[CAP1]

Hi, I'm curious if anyone here is, or has been, in the civil air patrol?

One of my friend wants to go to an air academy instead of school to join the Air Force next year, and i reccommended the CAP? Anyone think that's a good idea?

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< is NJ Wing Director of Transportation.

YES!!!!

tell him to check into a local squadron.

send him this link.      http://gocivilairpatrol.com/html/index.htm

he can check out CAP in there, and find a squadron close to him. there are a lot of advantages to joining CAP, including when he joins the Air force.

other things to keep in mind.......

we have the largest single engine air fleet in the country.
we have the highest safety record for our air fleet in the country
we are the best in the country in search and resuce. we train for it almost constantly.
we perform homeland security missions.
we perform counter drug missions


 we are mostly volenteers, thus, when you go to a class, you're learning from someone that REALLY enjoys teaching that subject matter, be it search and rescue, urban direction finding, emergency services, whatever.......you will learn a lot. cadets get what's called "orientation" flights. they will be allowed to fly the aircraft from the right seat......for free.

 he'll love it......

[CAP1]

I was in CAP for a little while, its a great idea if hes applying for any military academy.  gives you an idea of what the structure of the military is like in terms of rank and a few other things. Also a good idea if your interested in flying. They give you 5 Free Cessna Flights and 5 Free Glider Flights.

you forgot falcon flight. 

i think you have to be 16, and at least a cadet tech. seargent...but falcon flight is a weeklong intensive flight training program....and most likely you'll solo at the end of it.
 here in nj, we hold it on lakehurst naval airstation.

[Serenity]

<---- Cadet Chief Master Sergeant (Soon to be 2Lt), and Cadet Deputy Commander of the 66th Composite Squadron, Hawaii Wing, Pacific Region, CAP.

Its a great program. You meet some great people (I still talk to some of the kids I met last year in North Dakota) and you will get some absolutely unique experiences. We've ridden in C-17s for tactical takeoffs, done some rappelling from Blackhawks, its great. If you have any questions specific to cadet life, have him PM me. I just got my USAFA info packet today, and 10% of those accepted are in CAP. And while flying may be rare depending on your wing (We have something like 10-12 planes in our wing, but the Senior Members almost never let us near them) there are always the National Flight Academies. (I have my application in and I'm hoping to be accepted to the NFA in Nebraska). And if you're real active, you'll go places you never would have expected to find yourself. Ive spent two weeks on top of a volcano. Ive spent a week in North Dakota, and gone through Minnesota and Washington to get there, hopefully I'm off to Nebraska this year, and over to Wisconsin next year.