Air Staff move recognizes CAP security role

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott Elliott
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON --  One of the newest names in homeland defense is actually more than 60 years old.

The Air Force Auxiliary, also known as the Civil Air Patrol, has been in the defense business since Dec. 1, 1941, when it was chartered to support national defense by providing submarine reconnaissance.

In recognition of their traditional homeland security role, policy and guidance support at the Air Staff for the auxiliary was transferred to the Air Force directorate for homeland security from the directorate of operations and training.

“They’re an eye in the sky,” said Brig. Gen. David Clary, Air Force director for homeland security at the Pentagon. “The capability they bring is they can see things from the air that you can’t see from the ground.”

And at lower cost.

According to auxiliary Maj. Gen. Richard L. Bowling, CAP national commander, auxiliary aircraft can fly for about $90 per hour, compared with the thousands of dollars per hour spent to operate military jets or helicopters.

The auxiliary boasts about 64,000 members at 52 wings, of which more than 10,000 are pilots, scanners and observers. The CAP’s 550 single-engine aircraft fly about 110,000 hours per year.

In addition, the auxiliary has about 1,000 ground search and rescue teams, 840 high-frequency radio stations, 5,000 fixed-land radio stations and 10,000 mobile radios.

Two recent missions demonstrated the auxiliary’s homeland security capabilities, Clary said.

In February 2002, the auxiliary provided security support during the Salt Lake City Olympics, where they flew law enforcement agents over selected high-threat areas.

Earlier this year, CAP officials worked with the Air Force and NASA to support the Space Shuttle Columbia launch and recovery.

Auxiliary pilots flew patrols over the stretch of ocean under the Columbia’s launch path, Clary said.

“You don’t want small boats or potential terrorists in there, so they flew around looking for people who were not supposed to be there,” he said. “They provided the location of intruders into the range space for law enforcement authorities. On the back end of the mission, they aided in the search for pieces of the shuttle in Texas and other states after it broke apart.”

CAP members can also provide homeland security assistance through radiological monitoring, airborne communications relay, air defense radar evaluation and calibration, and intercept training, auxiliary officials said.

“That’s why they’re so valuable in the homeland security business,” Clary said. “They can support either the Department of Defense or other lead federal agencies in the observation mission.”