About CAP
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 for states/local communities 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.
Marking its 75th anniversary in 2017, Cadet Programs can track its beginnings to Oct. 1, 1942 — 10 months after the formation of CAP in December of 1941. More than one million cadets have benefited from the Cadet Programs’ leadership, character development, fitness, and aerospace/STEM education curriculum.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
Supporting America’s communities with emergency response, diverse aviation and ground services, youth development, and promotion of air, space and cyber power.
OUR CORE VALUES
Integrity – Integrity is the very fiber of all core values, without it all other core values cannot prevail. It is the cornerstone for all that is moral and just in our society. Integrity is a character trait. It is the willingness to do what is right even when no one is looking. It is the “moral compass”- the inner voice; the voice of self-control; the basis for the trust imperative in today’s military.
Volunteer Service – This core value speaks of “voluntarily giving of oneself, over personal desires, to provide for the welfare of others.”
Excellence –In CAP, we are always in continual pursuit of excellence; there is no room for the “good enough” mentality in the CAP. Good enough is never good enough and anything less violates the sacred trust the American public has placed in us.
Respect – Respect means we value our diverse membership. We treat each other with fairness, dignity, and compassion. We work as a team. Genuine respect involves viewing another person as an individual of fundamental worth.
OUR SLOGAN: Volunteers serving America's communities, saving lives, and shaping futures.
OUR MOTTO: Semper Vigilans (Always Vigilant)
OUR PURPOSE
(1) To provide an organization to :
– encourage and aid citizens of the United States in contributing their efforts, services, and resources in developing aviation and in maintaining air supremacy; and
– encourage and develop by example the voluntary contribution of private citizens to the public welfare.
(2) To provide aviation education and training especially to its senior and cadet members.
(3) To encourage and foster civil aviation in local communities.
(4) To provide an organization of private citizens with adequate facilities to assist in meeting
local and national emergencies.
(5) To assist the Department of the Air Force in fulfilling its noncombat programs and missions.
