Illinois Wing Civil Air Patrol
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.[2] The Illinois Wing consists of over 1,000 cadet and adult members at 30 locations across the state of Illinois.[3]
Illinois Wing of Civil Air Patrol | |
Associated branches | |
---|---|
United States Air Force | |
Command staff | |
Commander | Col Robert Dempsey Jr |
Vice Commander | Lt Col John Fletcher |
Chief of Staff | Lt Col Tod Whitemore |
Current statistics | |
Squadrons | 28 (+ 5 Groups) |
Cadets | 506 |
Seniors | 627 |
Total Membership | 1133 |
Statistics as of October 2018[1] | |
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.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8]
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. [9]
Group | Designation | Squadron Name | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Group 01 | IL286 | 286th Composite Squadron | East Alton |
IL205 | Scott Composite Squadron | Scott Air Force Base | |
IL061 | Shawnee Composite Squadron | Marion | |
Group 02 | IL067 | Midway Composite Squadron | Chicago |
IL329 | Lewis Composite Squadron | Romeoville | |
IL317 | Thunder Composite Squadron | Lansing | |
IL312 | Chicago Composite Squadron | Chicago | |
IL189 | Colonel Shorty Powers Composite Squadron | Bolingbrook | |
IL332 | Cornelius Coffey Composite Squadron | South Holland | |
Group 03 | IL303 | Decatur Flight | Decatur |
IL240 | McLean County Composite Squadron | Bloomington | |
IL004 | Peoria Composite Squadron | Peoria | |
IL036 | Springfield Composite Squadron | Springfield | |
IL327 | Champaign Composite Squadron | Champaign | |
Group 04 | IL274 | Fox Valley Composite Squadron | West Chicago |
IL284 | Illinois Valley Composite Squadron | Peru | |
IL008 | Quad City Composite Squadron | Moline | |
IL334 | Whiteside County Composite Squadron | Sterling | |
IL251 | Rockford Composite Squadron | New Milford | |
Group 22 | IL263 | McHenry County Composite Squadron | Greenwood |
IL282 | Lake in the Hills Composite Squadron | Lake in the Hills | |
IL049 | Palwaukee Composite Squadron | Wheeling | |
IL090 | Col Compton Composite Squadron | Evanston | |
IL042 | Lake County Composite Squadron | Naval Station Great Lakes | |
IL075 | Woodfield Composite Squadron | Schaumburg |
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.
Legal protection
Members of the Civil Air Patrol who are employed in Illinois are generally entitled to unpaid leave from their place of employment when taking part in a Civil Air Patrol mission. Employers who employ between fifteen and fifty employees must provide Civil Air Patrol members with up to fifteen days of unpaid leave annually for employees performing a Civil Air Patrol mission. Employers who employ more than fifty employees must provide Civil Air Patrol members up to thirty days of unpaid leave annually to respond to Civil Air Patrol missions. Employers are forbidden from requiring employees to use accrued vacation leave, personal leave, compensatory leave, sick leave, disability leave, or any other leave to cover the time period the employee is deployed on a mission. These rights are guaranteed under Illinois law.[10]
Aircraft
Tail Number | Cessna 182 | Tail Number | Cessna 172 | Tail Number | GippsAero GA8 Airvan |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
NA950CP NAV III | Chicago Executive Airport | N98381 | St. Louis Regional Airport | N470CP | DuPage Airport |
NA883CP NAV III | Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois | N9447L TOW | DuPage Airport | ||
NA631CP NAV III | Quad City International Airport | N99871 | Galt Airport | ||
N395CP | Lake in the Hills Airport | NA939CP NAV III | General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport | ||
N323CP | Lansing Municipal Airport |
References
- "eServices, National Headquarters". Civil Air Patrol., login required
- "Illinois Wing Headquarters Civil Air Patrol Location". Illinois Wing Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- "2014 Statistics" (PDF). Capmembers.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- "Civil Air Patrol". Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- "Emergency Services". Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- "Ice Storm Puts Kentucky in Deep Freeze" (PDF). Capmembers.com. 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- "Cadet Programs". Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Archived from the original on 3 December 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- "Aerospace Education". Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Archived from the original on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- "Unit Locations". Illinois Wing Civil Air Patrol Official Website. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
- "820 ILCS 148/10 Civil air patrol leave requirement". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- "Aircraft". ilwg.cap.gov. Retrieved 2020-08-08.