Illinois Wing Civil Air Patrol

Illinois Wing Civil Air Patrol

The Illinois Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, the United States Air Force Auxiliary
Associated branches
United States Air Force
Executive staff
Commander Col Jerry Scherer
Vice Commander Maj Jim Griggs
Current statistics
Squadrons 26
Cadets 494
Seniors 604
Statistics as of March 2016[1]

The Illinois Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the highest echelon of Civil Air Patrol in the state of Illinois. Illinois Wing Headquarters is located in West Chicago, Illinois.[2] The Illinois Wing consists of over 1,000 cadet and adult members at 30 locations across the state of Illinois.[3]

Mission

The Civil Air Patrol has three primary missions: providing emergency services; offering cadet programs for youth; and providing aerospace education for CAP members and the general public.[4]

Emergency services

The Civil Air Patrol provides emergency services, which includes search and rescue and disaster relief missions; including providing assistance in humanitarian aid assignments. The CAP provides Air Force support through the conducting of light transport, communications support, and low-altitude route surveys. The Civil Air Patrol may assist in counter-drug missions.[5]

In January 2009, members of the Illinois Wing, along with CAP members from the Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio Wings, flew sorties surveying damage and boosting communications for the Kentucky National Guard following a severe ice storm in Kentucky, while CAP ground crews assisted National Guardsmen in going door to door to perform wellness checks on residents.[6]

Cadet programs

The Civil Air Patrol offers a cadet program for youth aged 12 to 21, which is organized as a sixteen step training program which offers aerospace education, leadership training, physical fitness and moral leadership.[7]

Aerospace education

The Civil Air Patrol provides aerospace education for both CAP members and the general public; it includes providing training to the members of the CAP, and offering workshops for youth throughout the nation through schools and public aviation events.[8]

Organization

The Illinois Wing of the Civil Air Patrol is composed of 26 squadrons which are divided among four groups across the state of Illinois. The four groups of the Illinois Wing include: Group 1, headquartered in Mt. Vernon; Group 2, headquartered in Orland Park; Group 3, headquartered in Bloomington; and Group 22, headquartered in Lake In The Hills.[9] A reorganization was announced in Spring 2016 which will create a new "Group 4" and redistribute several squadrons in the mid-part of the state to that new area of responsibility.

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Blake A. Pumphrey, head of mobility and resources at the 182nd Security Forces Squadron, demonstrates a Taser X26 spark test for Civil Air Patrol cadets at the 182nd Airlift Wing in Peoria, Ill.
A Civil Air Patrol cadet reads the nomenclature of a security forces squadron M4 carbine at the 182nd Airlift Wing.
Squadrons of the Illinois Wing[9]
Group Designation Squadron Name Location
Group 1 IL286 286th Composite Squadron East Alton
IL222 Civic Memorial Senior Squadron East Alton
IL330 Ohio River Composite Squadron Metropolis
IL205 Scott Composite Squadron Scott Air Force Base
IL061 Shawnee Composite Squadron Marion
Group 2 IL067 Midway Composite Squadron Chicago
IL329 Lewis Composite Squadron Romeoville
IL332 Cornelius Coffey Composite Squadron South Holland
IL317 Thunder Composite Squadron Lansing
IL312 Chicago Composite Squadron Chicago
IL011 Lt Col Julius Jackson Flight Chicago
IL189 Colonel Shorty Powers Composite Squadron Bolingbrook
IL274 Fox Valley Composite Squadron West Chicago
Group 3 IL284 Illinois Valley Composite Squadron Peru
IL008 Quad City Composite Squadron Moline
IL334 Whiteside County Composite Squadron Sterling
IL303 Decatur Flight Decatur
IL240 McLean County Composite Squadron Bloomington
IL004 Peoria Composite Squadron Peoria
IL036 Springfield Composite Squadron Springfield
Group 22 IL263 McHenry County Composite Squadron Greenwood
IL282 Lake in the Hills Composite Squadron Lake in the Hills
IL049 Palwaukee Composite Squadron Wheeling
IL042 Lake County Composite Squadron Naval Station Great Lakes
IL251 Rockford Composite Squadron New Milford
IL075 Woodfield Composite Squadron Schaumburg

Special Activities

Since 1991 Illinois Wing has hosted the Illinois Wing Spring Encampment on the U.S. Navy's Recruit Training Command in North Chicago Illinois.

The Raymond Johnson Flight Academy has been hosted by Illinois Wing since 1967, providing cadets with familiarization and flight training in powered aircraft, sailplanes, and hot-air balloons.

References

  1. ↑ "eServices, National Headquarters". Civil Air Patrol., login required
  2. ↑ "Illinois Wing Headquarters Civil Air Patrol Location". Illinois Wing Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "2014 Statistics" (PDF). Capmembers.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Civil Air Patrol". Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Emergency Services". Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Ice Storm Puts Kentucky in Deep Freeze" (PDF). Capmembers.com. 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Cadet Programs". Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Aerospace Education". Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Unit Locations". Illinois Wing Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Retrieved 1 November 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 14, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.