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Emergency Services |
| U. S. Air Force Fact Sheet |
CAP's emergency services include air and ground search and rescue, disaster relief, counterdrug, and an increasing role in homeland security. Its members fly more than 95 percent of the inland search and rescue missions directed by the Air Force Rescue and Coordination Center at Langley Air Force Base, VA. The Civil Air Patrol flew more that 3,000 search and rescue missions and was credited with saving 73 lives in 2005.
CAP assists the U.S. Customs Service, Drug Enforcement Administration and Forest Service in their counterdrug efforts. In 2005, CAP aircrews flew more than 12,000 hours in support of the nation's war on drugs and were credited with contributing to the confiscation of more than $400 million of illegal drugs.
CAP aircraft fly non-combat homeland security missions such as surveillance of critical infrastructure, airborne communications relay, and airlift of critical cargo.
CAP provides extensive support to the nation's Gulf coast following natural disasters. During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, CAP serviced dozens of locations across the region. More than 1,500 CAP members volunteered to provide support ranging from aircraft missions such as search and rescue, transportation of critical personnel and supplies, and aerial imagery of flood damaged areas for civil authorities to ground team missions such as house to house searching of neighborhoods and passing out emergency supplies. In total, the CAP flew nearly 1,000 aircraft missions in support of the hurricane relief efforts.
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