Emergency Services

Direction Finding

Direction Finding


Civil Air Patrol is well known for its Emergency Services mission. CAP performs 90% of all inland Search and Rescue (SAR) missions directed by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. CAP Aircrews perform visual and electronic searches, while Ground Teams home in on the search objective with radio direction finding equipment.

CAP Ground Teams are often the first responders to a crash site and are capable of providing first aid to survivors. Civil Air Patrol members save an average of 80 lives per year.

Our cadets get involved in ES as well. While one has to be at least 18 to fly on missions, the eager cadet can get started in ES right away by learning Ground Team operations or becoming a mission radio operator.

When disaster strikes, CAP is there to provide relief. Volunteers give support in the form of manpower and leadership, including air/ground transportation, as well as an extensive communications network to local, state and federal disaster relief agencies. CAP has agreements with the American Red Cross and FEMA. After the attacks of September 11th, CAP aircraft were flying airborne reconnaissance sorties for Emergency Management officials. When the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart on re-entry in Feb 2003, CAP members were there to assist in the debris recovery efforts. Members from the Fox Cities Composite Squadron have put in hundreds of hours in flood relief operations in Wisconsin and Minnesota during 2007 and 2008. More recently CAP has participated in supporting the efforts with hurricane Katrina and Sandy. CAP also helped with the Tornado in Oklahoma, and the floods in Colorado.

Here at home, Fox Cities CAP members train frequently to be a valuable resource to the community. The unit flies and maintains a Cessna 182T for missions requiring air support. Since completion of the Squadron’s new Outagamie Regional Airport facility in 2006, the unit is mission-ready and has run operations right from the headquarters building.