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SC CAP takes to the air with the 315 AW

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Robert Pilch
  • 315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. --  The warm weather and clear skies here made for a great day to fly an orientation flight and training mission aboard a C17 Globemaster III aircraft with members from the South Carolina Civil Air Patrol and 317th Airlift Squadron here Feb. 26, 2011.

Young cadets and leadership from the SC CAP experienced, first-hand, some of the training and technical skills utilized by servicemembers from the 315 AW. The orientation flight allowed young cadets to witness several tactical procedures involving off-loading cargo and landing the aircraft.

"The cadets have been really looking forward to this," said Col. Bob Townsend, a squadron commander with the SC CAP.

There are not enough words to describe the experience, said one of the cadets as he boarded the shuttle van after the flight.

The CAP was formed during WWII and is comprised of 60,000 members today, who handle 90 percent of inland search and rescue missions, provide disaster relief and emergency services following natural and manmade disasters and humanitarian missions along the U.S. and Mexican border.

One of the three primary missions of the CAP, the cadet program, utilizes aviation as a pillar to provide thousands of young people ages 12 - 21 to progress through a 16-step program encompassing leadership training, aerospace education, physical fitness and moral leadership.

Cadets who achieve officer status may enter the Air Force as an Airman 1st Class rather than an Airman Basic.

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