On Jan. 11, 1949, the secretary of the Air Force described the Civil Air Patrol as a "civilian auxiliary of the Air Force."
Fifty-nine years later, the two organizations kicked off a new pilot project at two Air Force bases on Jan. 28. Randolph Air Force Base and Wright-Patterson AFB have been selected as the two sites for evaluating the potential of an additional Air Force noncombat mission for CAP using existing statutory and Secretarial authorities.
"This program called Volunteer Support to the Air Force, or VSAF will provide greater volunteer opportunities for citizens through the CAP while enhancing the Air Force capabilities as a part of the Air Force’s Continuum of Service program," assistant secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Craig Duehring, said.
“The members of the Civil Air Patrol, all patriotic American citizens, are proud to have this opportunity to help the brave men and women defending our country and the loved ones they leave behind when they deploy, but before now, a structure did not exist to match volunteer capabilities with base needs,” said Interim CAP Commander Brig. Gen. Amy Courter. “Our 57,000 volunteers welcome this opportunity to support the military families in their communities across the nation.”
Continuum of Service (CoS) is a Department of Defense initiative that seeks to provide opportunities for service along a continuum from military active duty to civilian volunteer. The CoS recognizes that people are the key ingredient to the sustained success of our Air Force and focuses on eliminating the barriers that allows our highly trained, motivated people to continue to serve as their personal situations change over the course of their career.
This endeavor builds on the willingness and capabilities of our citizen volunteers. In the pilot project announced today, the Air Force and the Civil Air Patrol continue their historic partnership to involve America’s citizens in Air Power’s ongoing adventure from Heritage to Horizon.
CAP group commanders will serve as project liaisons, coordinating with base personnel to identify and fill needs.
CAP members will wear a distinctive polo and khaki uniform while performing VSAF duties. Those who join CAP in order to perform VSAF services will be considered full-fledged CAP members, with the same rights and responsibilities that membership entails.
