1st Air Force commander commends CAP on anniversary, cites 'special relationship'

Angela Pope

Public Affairs
AFNORTH

FLORIDA – Civil Air Patrol’s 70th anniversary today prompted the commander of Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region-1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern) to proclaim that “we simply could not do what we do every day without” CAP as an ally and partners in homeland defense and Defense Support of Civil Authorities.

“We share a special relationship with CAP,” Lt. Gen. Sid Clarke.

“CAP’s volunteers enable us to provide better service to the citizens of this great country,” Clarke said. “And though CONR-1st AF (AFNORTH)’s partnership with CAP is only a few years old, they’ve been providing this invaluable service since World War II.”

Mark OBrien, CAP-USAF liaison officer to 1st Air Force, said that in its capacity as the U.S. Air Force auxiliary, “CAP was uniquely positioned to conduct homeland security operations in support of the nation’s security initiatives and to be a force multiplier for the Air Force.

“So in 2005, CAP operational mission approval for the continental U.S. was realigned under 1st Air Force.”

The CONR-1st AF (AFNORTH) commander employs CAP’s services in lieu of or in supplement of Air Force resources to fulfill the noncombat programs and missions of the Air Force, Obrien said. Such services may include Air Force-assigned missions in support of homeland security operations, consequence management, support to civilian law enforcement and other civil support.

“CAP has been recognized as a national leader in its ability to respond to search and rescue, disaster relief and homeland security missions,” OBrien said. “This is due to their technology, their low cost and the speed with which they respond to an incident or event.”

The partnership between CONR-1st AF (AFNORTH) and CAP is put to work nearly every single day of the year, as:

• CAP can regularly be found providing air and ground teams in search of lost hikers, missing aircraft and the like.
  
• Several times a year, CAP teams around the country provide "tracks of interest" to aerospace control alert pilots, giving them a chance to practice scrambling and intercepting aircraft in a safe, controlled environment.
  
• When disaster strikes, CAP is out in force, doing everything from providing imagery analysis of the disaster-stricken area to rescuing victims of the disaster.

“I join a grateful nation in saying thank you for everything you do and have done for the last 70 years,” Clarke told CAP and its members.