helped round up and capture 9 criminal aliens about 1.5 miles inside the US border yesterday morning

last four flights, almost 30 total

Is this Civil Air Patrol?

I have very little good to say about CAP in general, but this is one mission that has tangible benefits on multiple levels. It's not only border security, but given the sheer numbers of deaths in the desert, it's a lifesaving mission, as well as drug interdiction, national security, and perhaps as useful as anything else, a huge taxpayer savings.

I've flown on a lot of desert fires, and the majority of them have been started by illegals, often to bring in help when they've run out of water and supplies. It's not uncommon at all to be looking for border patrol helicopters on the way in and out of the smoke.

I’m about 100 miles from the border. Law enforcement of various kinds catch about a dozen a week here. Estimates are that they get maybe 10% of those that come through. Recently there have been a lot of Guatemalans caught.

yes, CAP giving air support to CBP

In my experience, CAP is hit and miss. In some areas its an 'old boys club' and to do any flying you need to get an act of congress to get inside the club

other places, they welcome outsiders - I lucked out here

a small squadron, seniors only and we're probably the most active group of pilots in the state

we get CN missions as well as Barrel Cactus, and several of our group are Green Flag participants -I will be doing Green Flag in about a year

I have no exposure to any cadet programs

Good job!

I second the ‘good job’. No need to make it easy on illegals.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I’m about 100 miles from the border. Law enforcement of various kinds catch about a dozen a week here. Estimates are that they get maybe 10% of those that come through. Recently there have been a lot of Guatemalans caught.

The warehouses are full of them in northern Kentucky. But we aren't supposed to notice.

My dad was a CAP member, pilot and A&E mechanic. I can remember having more than one CAP fuselage in the garage at home while he worked on them after hours.

My favorite memory was a run-up of a engined fuselage in the driveway. He used to tow them home and back behind an old CAP truck.

RMD

Bravo. Thank you for your efforts

That's awesome.

I keep saying I'm going to look into my local club in Kenai. I've had the same experience as mentioned. Some clubs are great, a lot of others...very not. Good-ole-boy club or retired fighter pilots who probably shouldn't be flying any more...and no one else gets any stick time.

Still....I see the local CAP plane sitting on the ramp and rotting, I've never seen it move. I need to check into it.

Can we get them to arm your plane?

I wish

was asked to do another flight tomorrow - leaving early in the morning - over the target area right around sunrise

the CBP guys are great to work with

I got my grandson in the CAP cadet program last November. Best kept secret in the U.S.

Now I've joined as a senior, mostly to help out the squadron. At this point I don't plan on advancing past Level II , if I even do that.

I will likely qualify as a mission pilot within the next six months or so

once I get MO and MP qualifications done I can apply for Green Flag crew which is a two week commitment at Nellis AFB - I want to see if I can qualify as a sensor operator for the synthetic Predator

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
In my experience, CAP is hit and miss.

I was a CAP member for a number of years. I worked my way up through the cadet program, was selected for some of the national programs, did the ranger program, soled, and eventually did my private and became a mission pilot, still as a cadet. When I switched to the senior member program, I was a cadet orientation pilot, radiological monitoring, etc. I was on a ground rescue team during that time as a cadet and senior, too.

The amount of abuse in the program was what finally drove me to quit. Showing up for a search only to be denied the key to the aircraft by the Wing Executive Officer, because the corporate aircraft was "his." Physical and sexual abuse of cadets. I showed up with my own teen kids who wanted to attend, put them in the program, and two years later they still lacked membership. No uniforms, no books, nothing. No rank advancements. The local unit was taking the money, never sending it in, said if I didn't like it leave. I pulled my kids out, they switched to Jr. ROTC. My son graduated as the unit commander, went on to join the USMC.

While the kids were entering the CAP cadets, I was approached by a senior squadron, told they needed instructors and check airman, invited to join. I filled out the paperwork. Despite nearly two decades in the program, I was told I'd have to go through the whole program from the beginning, including a year as an observer in a Cessna 182 before I could qualify as a mission pilot. I was a 747 captain at the time...but they wanted me to run though the observer program, ride in the back of a Cessna for a year...absurd.

It's good that somewhere, someone is able to get something done, but by and large, I saw far more old men trying to re-live glory, far, far too much politics, favoritism, and bureaucracy, and too many who thought they really did hold the military grade that the program conferred.

yeah, thats junk - sorry you had a bad time. My first 8 years I got to fly exactly twice. In the last 6 weeks I've flown 8 times.

bad squadron and unit that gives everyone a bad name

I know retired airline pilots that walk in the door with 18,000 hours and they're MP qualified in 2 weeks

we had a CO who thought he was gods gift to aviation and he hogged the aircraft for himself - he ended up getting shitcanned by region for good reason and once he was gone it was a much better experience.

We fly all over the country and see most of the CAP planes just tied down.

But at least they get to fly in flight suits!

The CAP corporate aircraft actually get used quite a bit. When they're not involved in official business, CAP members can utilize the aircraft for a low hourly rate; they're very nice, very clean airplanes that are meticulously maintained (and most are hangared), and will beat any rental rate. Signing one out isn't always easy because of the utilization rate. There are restrictions for their use, including receiving or giving primary flight instruction (not allowed), but they're a reasonably well kept secret in good values.

Flight suits are only one option for those flying in the corporate aircraft (182's, primarily). CAP also has a proprietary jump suit and other attire that's approved for flight activities.

thats correct - to wear the USAF flight suit and not the corporate blue, you have to meet the same physical standard and grooming standard as prescribed by the USAF

if you're overweight, want a beard and a mustache or long hair you can still fly but not in green.

I think in a lot of cases CAP is what you make of it, but it does take a lot out of you - CAP is sometimes called Come And Pay. But I will take a 4 year old 182 Nav III airplane for $70 an hour any day over a 25 year old 172 with Narco avionics