Welcome to the Pocatello Composite Squadron of Civil Air Patrol

Our senior and cadet members focus on volunteering and supporting our three primary missions: Emergency Services, Cadet Programs, and Aerospace Education.  We are always looking for new members to join our team so if you are interested in joining, please contact our squadron commander LT Mike Smith at smitmike@isu.edu. 

We encourage you to attend a few squadron meetings to see if our organization is a good fit for you and your goals as a volunteer.  Membership fee is $64 for seniors (background check required) and $38 for cadets (cadets can submit application direct online or paper copy).  Member benefits come along with your approved membership. Maybe you’re not ready to join, but still want to support us?  You can become a friend and supporter of the Civil Air Patrol Program and still get member discounts for just $35, click for details.  Don’t forget, these dues are tax deductible.

Our squadron meets weekly on Thursday nights from 6:30-8:30PM - Location:  Pocatello Airport grounds at our squadron building located at 1498 Thunderbolt Street.  Please be sure to check our upcoming Events Page for any changes to this normal schedule.    

HISTORY OF CIVIL AIR PATROL

In the late 1930s, more than 150,000 volunteers with a love for aviation argued for an organization to put their planes and flying skills to use in defense of their country.  As a result, the Civil Air Patrol was born one week prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  Thousands of volunteer members answered America’s call to national service and sacrifice by accepting and performing critical wartime missions. Assigned to the War Department under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps, the contributions of Civil Air Patrol, including logging more than 500,000 flying hours, sinking two enemy submarines, and saving hundreds of crash victims during World War II, are well documented.

After the war, a thankful nation understood that Civil Air Patrol could continue providing valuable services to both local and national agencies.  On July 1, 1946, President Harry Truman signed Public Law 476 incorporating Civil Air Patrol as a benevolent, nonprofit organization.  On May 26, 1948, Congress passed Public Law 557 permanently establishing Civil Air Patrol as the auxiliary of the new U.S. Air Force.  Three primary mission areas were set forth at that time: aerospace education, cadet programs, and emergency services.

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force, which consists of regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 78 lives annually. Civil Air Patrol’s 56,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program.Performing missions for America for the past 75 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.