Civil Air Patrol members practice searching
for an emergency locator transmitter at the National Emergency Services
Academy.
The member in front is using an L-Tronics Little L-Per,
a type of radio direction finder. Civil Air Patrol covers several Emergency
Services areas. The principal categories include search and rescue missions,
disaster relief, humanitarian services, and Air Force support. Other services,
such as homeland security and actions against drug-trafficking operations, are
becoming increasingly important. Civil Air Patrol is well-known for its search
activities in conjunction with search and rescue (SAR) operations. CAP is
involved with approximately three quarters of inland SAR missions directed by
the United States Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force
Base, Florida. Outside of the continental United States, CAP directly supports
the Joint Rescue Coordination Centers in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. CAP
is credited with saving an average of 100 lives per year.
CAP is active in disaster relief operations, especially
in areas such as Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana that are frequently struck
by hurricanes. CAP aircrews and ground personnel provide transportation for
cargo and officials, aerial imagery to aid emergency managers in assessing
damage, and donations of personnel and equipment to local, state and federal
disaster relief organizations during times of need. In 2004, several hurricanes
hit the southeast coast of the United States, with Florida being the worst
damaged; CAP was instrumental in providing help to affected areas. Civil Air
Patrol conducts humanitarian service missions, usually in support of the Red
Cross. CAP aircrews transport time-sensitive medical materials, including blood
and human tissue, when other means of transportation (such as ambulances) are
not practical or possible. Following the September 11 attacks on the World
Trade Center in New York City when all general aviation was grounded, one of
the first planes to fly over the destroyed World Trade Center was a CAP
aircraft taking photographs. CAP performs several missions that are not
combat-related in support of the United States Air Force, including damage
assessment, transportation of officials, communications support and
low-altitude route surveys. As a humanitarian service organization, CAP assists
federal, state and local agencies in preparing for and responding to homeland
security needs. In particular, the CAP fleet is used in training exercises to
prepare USAF pilots to intercept enemy aircraft over the Continental United
States. Civil Air Patrol aircraft are flown into restricted airspace, where Air
Force F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15 Eagle pilots may practice high-speed
intercepts.