What is the Civil Air Patrol in the US? What do they do and do they get paid? And are they recognized as members of the military? Or are they similar to the merchant marines?
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Also a former cadet and senior member (adult). CAP members are volunteers. CAP was authorized/formed on December 1st, 1941 (1 week before the attack on Pearl Harbor). During WW2, CAP members flew patrols along the US coasts and dropped handheld bombs from their planes when they spotted enemy ships. I used to know the number of ships spotted and bombed, but only remember CAP was responsible for sinking 1 German ship.
The national HQ for CAP is at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, AL. CAP has a three-fold mission:
Aerospace education
Search and rescue
The cadet program (leadership training)
Cadet membership is from 13 -21, although people can join at 12 once they’ve completed 6th grade.
I enjoyed my time in CAP and learned a lot from it as well as forming life-long relationships with people. I got to see and do some really cool things, like spending time in a different country as part of the International Air Cadet Exchange (IACE) program.
CAP is the official auxiliary of the US Air Force and cadets who earn the Billy Mitchell Award can enlist in the Army or Air Force at a higher rank. Because I’d earned the Mitchell Award, I was able to enlist in the Army as a Specialist (E4).
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