Civil Air Patrol

As the commander of Overlake Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, I look forward to bringing you news and information about our organization. The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) has been around for 70 years.

CAP was formed just a few days before the attack on Pearl Harbor by a group of volunteer civilian pilots who wanted to contribute to the war effort that seemed unavoidable.

CAP pilots began patrolling the east coast shipping lanes in the early days of WWII when German U-boats were sinking huge numbers of our ships. This effort continued for several years until the military was strong enough to take over the role of coastal defense.  

Today CAP has over 60,000 volunteer members across the country in 1,500 squadrons.