civil air patrol

caliginousface

caliginousface

Frank N. Beans
i'm 19 and i know kids since they were like 9 start doing cap, i would like to do some kind of military service for the country because it's been so good to my parents since they moved here, even though i really dont like the current administration.

the major branches are not included because my parens would kill me with their tears if i went. so, what do you all thin about cap??
 
Joining the military isn't an indication that you do or do not support any presidential administration because that's not your job. As MikeD's business card says, you're a 'hired gun'.

I dunno, flying a Cessna 172 or potentially flying an F-15 Strike Eagle... I think my decision would be fairly easy.
 
Doug Taylor said:
Joining the military isn't an indication that you do or do not support any presidential administration because that's not your job. As MikeD's business card says, you're a 'hired gun'.

I dunno, flying a Cessna 172 or potentially flying an F-15 Strike Eagle... I think my decision would be fairly easy.
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haha, well i was thinking about doing it while i'm still in college.

i messed my back up pretty gooda few years ago, so i dont think i'd be able to do air national guard, or enlist in a major branch.
 
Doug Taylor said:
I dunno, flying a Cessna 172 or potentially flying an F-15 Strike Eagle... I think my decision would be fairly easy.
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Yeah I'd fly a 72, I'm a puss.

:)

As for the CAP, what's bad about mentoring some young kids to do quasi productive things like the cub scouts do? It's a good thing.
 
The Civil Air Patrol is not a branch of the military. They are a volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.

You may want to look into Coast Guard aviation.


TP
 
iowapilot said:
No, but they definitely think they are.
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Some do, but certainly not all or even most.

In the words of the great Herb Schwartz, "99.9% of all generalizations are wrong, including this one".
 
typhoonpilot said:
The Civil Air Patrol is not a branch of the military. They are a volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.

You may want to look into Coast Guard aviation.


TP
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right alright, but i dont think i can do much basic training stuff because of my back. so thats i was thinking civil air patrol during my college years would fit alright.
 
Your original question was about serving your country. While I think the CAP is a very good organization and a helpful part of our aviation community, I don't equate being in the CAP as serving my country. While it is true they have been taking a greater roll in some other government missions in the last decade, they are still primarily a domestic search and rescue organization.

The CAP bureacracy can be very aggravating and it takes a long time to get certified to fly missions. If you can be A) patient, B) persistent, and C) lucky you may get to the point where you do a fair amount of search and rescue as well as "other" flying.

A lot will depend on where you are located. In California we had a very good variety of flying which included Search and Rescue, Organ Transport, Cadet Program, California State OES, Counter Narcotics, and some misc AF VR route surveys.

Breaking into the CAP flying is difficult because it tends to be very "clubish" or "cliquish" with the old farts who try to hog all the flying. Young guys have the most difficulty. You have to find a squadron that will be accepting of you and be points A,B, and C above.

CAP has their fair share of dorks who give the image that iowapilot has, but there are also a very large number of competent, experienced, and dedicated individuals who make the organization worthwhile. I've benefited greatly from my involvement in CAP, not just in that it helped me to learn many things about leadership and flying, but that it has brought me many good friends and contacts in the aviation community. I got my first flight instructor job and my first airline job directly because of CAP contacts.

Again, I wouldn't view CAP as a form of military service, but they did sink two German U-boats during World War II.


Typhoonpilot
26 year CAP member
 
typhoonpilot said:
Your original question was about serving your country. While I think the CAP is a very good organization and a helpful part of our aviation community, I don't equate being in the CAP as serving my country. While it is true they have been taking a greater roll in some other government missions in the last decade, they are still primarily a domestic search and rescue organization.

The CAP bureacracy can be very aggravating and it takes a long time to get certified to fly missions. If you can be A) patient, B) persistent, and C) lucky you may get to the point where you do a fair amount of search and rescue as well as "other" flying.

A lot will depend on where you are located. In California we had a very good variety of flying which included Search and Rescue, Organ Transport, Cadet Program, California State OES, Counter Narcotics, and some misc AF VR route surveys.

Breaking into the CAP flying is difficult because it tends to be very "clubish" or "cliquish" with the old farts who try to hog all the flying. Young guys have the most difficulty. You have to find a squadron that will be accepting of you and be points A,B, and C above.

CAP has their fair share of dorks who give the image that iowapilot has, but there are also a very large number of competent, experienced, and dedicated individuals who make the organization worthwhile. I've benefited greatly from my involvement in CAP, not just in that it helped me to learn many things about leadership and flying, but that it has brought me many good friends and contacts in the aviation community. I got my first flight instructor job and my first airline job directly because of CAP contacts.

Again, I wouldn't view CAP as a form of military service, but they did sink two German U-boats during World War II.


Typhoonpilot
26 year CAP member
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alright, well i guess thats alll i can do. thanks for all your info, i'm going back to san jose and there's a squadron at RHV, where i'll be flying when i get tehre again. so i guess i'll go to the meetings and see what i can do. thanks again!
 
Check out this website for the CAP Squadrons in the San Francisco Bay area: http://gp2.cawg.cap.gov/

San Jose is a slight problem. There are two squadrons located at Reid-Hillview. One is a cadet squadron and the other a senior squadron. While they both do a good job at their mission, I find the separation of the two an issue. it is much better to be associated with a Composite squadron where you can work with both groups.

I was a member of Squadron 36 for a few years in the late 80s. That was the cadet squadron and it had some excellent people. Actually three of the best cadet program people in the entire state of California.

The website lists all the squadrons in the Bay Area. It might be worth your while to also check out Squadron 192 in San Carlos and Squadron 10 in Palo Alto to see which one might be a better fit for you and your goals.


Typhoonpilot
 
dang, the only problem with me going somehwere else is that i'll be living pretty close to RHV, but if its a meeting or two a week at night its not bad right?
 
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