Civil Air Patrol's Virginia Wing supports Air Combat Command
Nov 9, 2022 – Civil Air Patrol (CAP) manned aircraft and small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) participated in an Air Combat Command (ACC) exercise at Joint Base Langley-Eustis.
The exercise, coordinated by ACC’s Agile Battle Lab, was designed to prepare A-10s for the 355th Wing for future deployments, as well as test new counter UAS tracking technologies. The wing flew pre-coordinated sorties around the base’s airspace and other airspace. ACC’s new technology was put to the test in tracking CAP’s assets which were used to emulate red force UAS and adversaries.
Colonel Liz Sydow, Virginia Wing’s commander, commented, “CAP has a long history of supporting the warfighter, rooted in our World War II missions of target towing and coastal patrol. I am proud of the skill and professionalism demonstrated by our members and the opportunity to assist the U.S. Air Force as a Total Force partner.”
Acting as a Total Force partner and official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, Civil Air Patrol helps First Air Force rapidly respond to nonmilitary threats domestically in a Defense Support of Civil Authorities capacity to save lives, relieve suffering, prevent property damage, and provide humanitarian assistance.
PHOTOS: https://www.flickr.com/photos/vawgcap/albums/72177720303728935
About Virginia Wing
The Virginia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, with 22 squadrons spread throughout the Commonwealth has approximately 1,800 members, 12 light aircraft, and 29 multi-purpose vehicles. These assets are available to federal, state and local governments, emergency responders and law enforcement agencies to perform search and rescue, homeland security, disaster relief, humanitarian assistance and counter-drug missions. For more information on the Virginia Wing, visit the wing’s website at https://vawg.cap.gov/ and Faceboook page at https://www.facebook.com/vawgcap
About Civil Air Patrol
Established in 1941, Civil Air Patrol is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and as such is a member of its Total Force. In its auxiliary role, CAP operates a fleet of 555 single-engine aircraft and 2,250 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and performs about 90% of all search and rescue operations within the contiguous United States as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Often using innovative cellphone forensics and radar analysis software, CAP was credited by the AFRCC with saving 108 lives last year. CAP’s 58,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief, and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state, and local agencies. As a nonprofit organization, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace education using national academic standards-based STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education resources. Members also serve as mentors to 24,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs.
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