The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is an official auxiliary of the United States Air Force. It is a volunteer, non-profit organization that performs three main mission elements: emergency services, aerospace education, and cadet program. The organization is probably best known for its involvement in search and rescue, disaster relief and civil defense.
CAP was founded on December 1, 1941. During World War II, its principal purpose was to provide private pilots and aviation enthusiasts a means of using their light aircraft and skills in civil defense efforts. Among these civil defense war time missions were anti-submarine patrol missions along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts; patrol missions along the Mexican border, watching for enemy agents trying to sneak into the country; airlift of small lots of virtually needed war supplies and aircraft parts; and towing of aerial targets for gunners to use in practice.
In 1943, the organization came under the control and direction of the Army Air Corps. It became a permanent peacetime institution on July 1, 1946, when President Harry S. Truman signed Public Law 476, which established CAP as a federally chartered benevolent civilian corporation.
On May 26, 1948, Congress passed Public Law 557, which made CAP the official auxiliary of the new United States Air Force. CAP was charged at this time with three primary missions: Aerospace Education, Emergency Services, and Cadet Programs.
The Civil Air Patrol, DeKalb Area Composite Squadron was founded in 1974 by Jim Hebert. The DeKalb Squadron carried on most of the air search and rescue functions of the Air Force in the United States, aided in civil defense, cooperated with state and local emergency and disaster agencies, promoted aviation and aerospace education, and performed radiological monitoring. The organization flew regular practice missions and ran a Cadet program for DeKalb High School. The high school cadets learned about aviation, aviation careers, and the aerospace sciences.
The Patrol established an Aircraft User’s Group (AUG) to promote and encourage interest in aviation, aviation safety, air search and rescue, and all allied sciences for the benefit of the members and the Civil Air Patrol. The group later became the DeKalb Search and Rescue Group.
Due to decline in members the group deactivated circa 2000 and the remaining members joined the Illinois Valley Flight #11284 or other surrounding squadrons.
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