Commander Col Jerry Scherer Chief of Staff Lt Col Tod Whitemore Cadets 494 | Vice Commander Maj Jim Griggs Squadrons 26 Seniors 604 | |
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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. The Illinois Wing consists of over 1,000 cadet and adult members at 30 locations across the state of Illinois.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Organization
The Illinois Wing of the Civil Air Patrol is composed of 23 squadrons which are distributed among five Groups across the state of Illinois. The five Groups of the Illinois Wing include: Group 1, headquartered in Mt. Vernon; Group 2, headquartered in Orland Park; Group 3, headquartered in Bloomington; Group 4, headquartered in Rockfalls;and Group 22, headquartered in Lake In The Hills. IL332 - Cornelius Coffey Composite Squadron, as a CAP "School Program", reports directly to Wing HQ.
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.