Colorado Mission
General Information About The Colorado Wing CAP
The Colorado Wing (COWG) of the Civil Air Patrol operates in the Rocky Mountain Region. COWG is comprised of 39 squadrons in four groups across Colorado. There are three types of squadrons: Cadet, Composite and Senior.
- "Cadet" squadrons are comprised primarily of cadets, with a minimum of three senior members (adults) for supervisory, administrative, and training requirements.
- "Composite" squadrons are made up of both cadets and senior members, conducting both cadet and senior programs.
- "Senior" squadrons are made up exclusively of senior members who are all over the age of 18. There are currently almost 1000 Seniors and more than 1050 Cadets in the Colorado Wing.
Squadrons of the Colorado Wing regularly participate in search-and-rescue training exercises. The COWG squadrons stand ready to assist those in need. Missions range from search-and-rescue of lost hikers or hunters, location of downed aircraft and transport of emergency personnel or medical materials. When there is a disaster in a Colorado community, the State's CAP squadrons respond by transporting doctors, firefighters or emergency personnel to the areas in need.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 60,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs about 85 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 70 lives annually. Its unpaid professionals also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 25,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet programs. Performing missions for America for over 73 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capgoldmedal.com for more information.
