ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The pilot of a small plane that smashed into a building in downtown Anchorage on Tuesday was not authorized to fly the aircraft used in volunteer search-and-rescue missions, Civil Air Patrol authorities said. According to a report from NBCNews.com, Doug Demarest, 42, of Anchorage, died when the Cessna 172 clipped an office […]
Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol celebrates 74th anniversary
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. – The U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol turned 74 Dec. 1. “What a year it has been!” exclaimed Maj. Gen. Joe Vazquez, CAP’s national commander and chief executive officer. “Last December, shortly after our 73rd anniversary, Civil Air Patrol was presented with a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of […]
Enhanced technology improves CAP’s flood damage assessment in SC
COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Civil Air Patrol pilots photographing the flood damage in South Carolina began using a new tool in their emergency response arsenal — a Garmin Virb camera system that attaches to their planes’ wing strut. The cameras capture ground images directly below, which allows officials to make much faster use of the images. South Carolina Wing […]
CAP on front lines of SC flood response
COLUMBIA, South Carolina — The Civil Air Patrol made 81 flights the week of Oct. 5, spending 156 hours in the sky above flood-drenched South Carolina. The flights are being made in response to deadly rain that Gov. Nikki Haley is calling a “thousand-year” event, which has already claimed 17 lives. “Civil Air Patrol is on the front […]
CAP team wins Commander’s Award
The achievements of the Civil Air Patrol’s National Cell Phone Forensics Team — which has supported 126 search and rescue missions, resulting in 76 lives saved and 66 additional finds — made it the logical choice for the 2014 AFNORTH Commander’s Award, according to CAP officials. Brig. Gen. David W. Hicks, vice commander of 1st Air Force, presented […]
CAP conference expected to draw more than 800 attendees
ORLANDO, Florida — More than 800 Civil Air Patrol members will convene from Aug. 27-29 in for the organization’s 2015 National Conference, devoting several days to training, networking and focusing on the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary’s path for the future. The conference at Walt Disney World’s Swan and Dolphin Resort will culminate with a banquet at […]
SD CAP Wing holds search and rescue training
Each year the Civil Air Patrol’s South Dakota Wing holds statewide search and rescue training exercises. The first for 2015 was Saturday, Jan. 24. The training is referred to as a “Split SAREX” (Search and Rescue Exercise), split because coordinated training is conducted simultaneously in the East River and West River areas. Saturday’s focus was on training […]
CAP pilot earns South Dakota aviation award
Civil Air Patrol pilot Captain Neil Schmid of the Sioux Falls Composite Squadron recently earned a significant aviation achievement. Flying one of the South Dakota Wing’s CAP aircraft, Schmid completed his “Fly South Dakota” Gold Level Award. The Fly South Dakota program, which began in 2010, is sponsored by the South Dakota Pilots Association (SDPA) to promote […]
CAP members presented Congressional Gold Medal
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Forty-six founding Civil Air Patrol members were present Dec. 10 to see the organization honored with the Congressional Gold Medal for the service they and more than 200,000 other CAP volunteers provided during World War II, when they helped protect U.S. shipping against German U-boat attacks and carried out other wartime domestic missions. […]