Public Affairs Director Jon Michaels (since 1977) talks with Col. Mary Donley and Lt.Col. Mike Cassidy of the South Dakota Wing of the Civil Air Patrol in Sioux Falls. From their website:  Integrity The Civil Air Patrol core values are Integrity, Volunteer Service, Excellence, and Respect.Our Civil Air Patrol core values reflect how we choose to act as an organization. It’s a statement of how we choose to treat our fellow members, our partner organizations, and the American public. They reflect our organization’s institutional commitment as well as our members’ personal commitment to public service.  SOUTH DAKOTA WINGCIVIL AIR PATROL HISTORY1940’SPrior to WWI the German army was on fire and seemed unstoppable. TheAmerican aviation community was convinced that the civilian aircraft fleet ofover 25,000 aircraft could be of a benefit to the nation and our army.A writer for the New York Tribune, WWI pilot, Founder of the AircraftOwners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and director of Aeronautics for NewJersey, Gill Rob Wilson believed that something needed to be done to help theEast coast search for submarines. After numerous meetings he was able toconvince the governor of New Jersey to form the “New Jersey Civil AirDefense Service.” Feeling that more needed to be done, he enlisted the aid oftwo of his fellow newspaper publishers, Gannett and Beck to help him “winover” Hap Arnold, the chief of the Army Air Force and the head of the Officeof Civil Defense, Fiorello LaGuardia, with the idea that this civilian air forcewould be of a great benefit to the country. Under the Civil Defense Office theCivil Air Patrol was formed on December 1, 1941.The new organization now needed national leaders to organize each state withtheir own commanders. Under the first National commander, Major GeneralJohn F. Curry, recruiting began on December 8, 1941 with the publicannouncement of the newly formed “Civil Air Patrol”. Within months 48states had a new group and wing commander.South Dakota had 8 groups maned in locations all across the state.■ Spearfish – Clyde Ice■ Rapid City – Floyd Barlow■ Pierre –--------Franklin Hyde■ Huron --------- Ken Neville■ Aberdeen ----Dwight Campbell■ Watertown - Ralph Hubbard■ Brookings – Cecil Shuoe■ Sioux Falls –Knapp BrownThe first SD Wing Commander was Thomas B. Roberts Jr.a newspaper man from Pierre just like Wilson. Roberts was wing commanderfrom Dec. 01 1941 – 15 Oct. 1945.The headline in the Rapid City Journal January 7, 1942 read.“SD State Civil Air Patrol Organized”On March 5, 1942 the Costal Patrol was formed to offer help to the Navy. CAPCostal Patrol was credited with helping 91 ships in distress, 865 shipwrecksurvivors, flying over 6,000 convoy missions, finding 17 floating mines, andspotting 173 submarines, even being credited with the sinking of a few. 65 CAPpilots were killed on duty.Most members of the Costal Patrol were from the East Coast but South Dakotadid have a few pilots that traveled east to participate in the operations. One ofthose being Luverne A Kraemer from Deadwood. In March of 1942 hetraveled to Wichita, Kansas to build B29’s. Three months later he had a pilot’slicense and in April 1943 he volunteered for Costal Patrol in Atlantic City.Civil Air Patrol participated in the war efforts in numerous ways, one beinghere in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Members of the wing organizedcoyote hunts from the air and on the ground using the money from the sale ofpelts to help finance the Costal Patrol.In addition to the coyote hunts, members of the SD Wing joined the CourierService under the 2ndAir Force to help the Army Air Force transport neededitems and supplies between bases. On November 2, 1942 CAP pilots beganflying routes out of Rapid City Army Air Force Base, now known as EllsworthAir Force Base. Wing commander during this period was Col. James R.Barnett from Oct. 15 1945 - Sept. 24 1950.For an estimated 14 months 9 pilots, most of whom were not eligible to join themilitary, leased their private aircraft to the Army and flew these routes.These pilots were required to have a minimum of 150 hours of flyingexperience because these routes were a treacherous undertaking.None of the pilots were instrument-rated and they flew daily regardless ofweather. On days when the Army would ground their B-17’s the CAP CourierPilots were flying 7 routes per day with a completion rate of almost 100%.This was a miracle since most of the aircraft had no or very limitedinstruments and none had radio transmitters.Flying time was 3 hours for these planes with the exception of the commanderof the SD Courier group, Captain John Moodie. Moodie took out hispassengerseat and installed an extra fuel tank giving him extended flying time.These aircraft were small, 65-75 HP engines, but were defiantly work horsesfor the Army carrying cargo such as parachutes, rifles, mail and one secretmission carried cases of toilet paper.The biggest danger for these pilots was boredom, in flying so many hours overthe same route they became so familiar with the terrain that some would readbooks, buzz farms dropping notes and even performing acrobatics for kidsalong the routes.The first documentation of a SD CAP pilot flying for the Courier Service wasin the log book of Ross Wiehe. His first flight as a courier was February 27,1941. It was written in a letter from the wife of one courier pilot, Lawrence“Bud” Younger, that he made $300 a month plus expenses flying for the courierroute.October 1, 1942 Civil Air Patrol started recruiting young people for the cadetprogram. This initial program was intended for the training of pilots formilitary service. Potential cadets had to have a senior member sponsor to join.These sponsors had to work with and train their cadets for wartime service. InDecember of 1943 the Army assigned a Taylor craft L-2 to the SD Wing as acadet recruiting and training tool.At war’s end the “mission” of CAP was done but on July 1, 1946 Congresspassed Public Law #476 making Civil Air Patrol a permanent non-profitorganization to promote aviation and provide air service under emergencyconditions. After the Army Air Force became the US Air Force on September26, 1947 Public Law #557 made Civil Air Patrol the Auxiliary of the UnitedStates Air Force on May 26, 1948.Post-war was a time to focus on cadet growth with the core missions. In 1948CAP began the International Cadet Exchange program. In this programcadets traveled to another country to learn and train with local units. SouthDakota has hosted numerous cadets from other countries over the years since the 1950's. EMERGENCY SERVICES Civil Air Patrol’s Emergency Services program is its most publicized activity, striving to serve America's communities, save lives, and shape futures by performing operational missions for local, state, tribal, and federal agencies. South Dakota Wing was credited with one life saved during FY2022 resulting from emergency response missions. Nationally, CAP performs 95 percent of the inland search and rescue missions tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) and was credited with 151 lives saved during FY22. South Dakota Wing can provide services that are both effective and economical because CAP’s aircraft have a low cost-per-hour to operate. In a larger mission, South Dakota Wing can serve effectively as an Air Branch, and call in additional resources from CAP wings in adjoining states, if needed. South Dakota Wing’s recent operational missions, in addition to missions for AFRCC, have included: COVID vaccine transport Missing person searches Damage assessment aerial photography Low-level route surveys for Ellsworth AFB Serving as aerial intercept targets for the SD Air National Guard F-16s Radar coverage studies for NORAD South Dakota Wing’s six single-engine aircraft based around the state, ground vehicles, and scores of trained personnel can be deployed on short notice for specialized emergency response and agency support Missing Persons Local authorities typically ask South Dakota Wing to assist in missing persons searches several times a year. CAP’s high-wing single-engine aircraft are ideal for slow flight allowing visual air-to-ground searches. South Dakota Wing has small Unmanned Aerial System drones and trained operations teams that can search hard-to-reach areas. South Dakota Wing can also call in CAP’s expert Cell Phone Forensics team to identify the last known position of a cellular phone through GPS and/or towers contacted. Disaster Relief Emergency managers across the country task CAP members to perform airborne damage assessment photography after floods, tornados, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. South Dakota Wing uses DSLR cameras, operated by trained photographers, to chart the scope and severity of areas impacted by disasters for local and state authorities. CAP aircraft can also provide light airlift in and out of disaster areas. Ground teams can assist with shelter management, communications support, and other disaster relief needs. Missing Aircraft Searching for missing aircraft has long been a premier mission of Civil Air Patrol, although modern Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) technology has reduced the number of accidentally-triggered ELTs that CAP must, nevertheless find and deactivate. South Dakota aircrews and ground teams are trained in use of direction-finding radio equipment to seek ELTs, as well as visual searching. CAP ground teams can provide survivors first aid and crash site security. Mission Training CAP volunteer members train regularly for aircrew, ground team, and other mission specialties needed in search and rescue and disaster relief efforts. Pilots, observers, scanners, radio communicators, operations, flight line, radiological monitoring, public affairs, logistics, supply, safety, administrative and other personnel all respond to thousands of missions annually. In addition to extensive FEMA training, CAP’s emergency response training includes Air Force-specific requirements and internal CAP mission management policies. In addition to local training in CAP units across the state, South Dakota Wing conducts several state-level exercises a year to elevate operational experience and identify areas requiring refinement. These exercises are funded by the Air force and, where appropriate, can incorporate inter-agency personnel and communication channels.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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