Billy Mitchell Senior Squadron, Civil Air Patrol

Mission
The Louisiana Wing of the Civil Air Patrol is composed of nearly 600 civilian volunteers who donate their time and skills to perform missions for America. Louisiana wing is the 25th largest wing of the Civil Air Patrol.

The Civil Air Patrol is a Congressionally chartered civilian volunteer organization that acts as the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary.

Cap performs about 90 percent of all inland Search & Rescue.

The Civil Air Patrol's three primary missions are Aerospace Education, Cadet Programs and Emergency Services

The Billy Mitchell Senior Squadron consists of members aged 18 and over with an interest in Aviation and giving back to the community and is made up of pilots and non-pilots with very diverse backgrounds. We train to perform Search and Rescue, Aerial Photography, Disaster communications and much more working with Cadet squadrons to ensure our customers receive the best results in a safe and timely manner.

Meetings are held on the 1st Wednesday at 1900 Hours & 3rd Saturday at 0900 Hours located at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport.

Emergency Services:

Search and Rescue
Nationwide CAP handles almost 90 percent of inland search and rescue missions, with approximately 75 lives saved each year. In addition, CAP members are dedicated to counterdrug reconnaissance and to teaching a new generation about aerospace and its impact on our future. And our cadet programs ensure our youth receive some of the finest leadership training the nation has to offer.

The call comes: You grab your survival gear and head out to mission base. The aircrews gather together to plan each flight. There is a sense of urgency but safety is paramount. Briefed for the mission, each crew in turn boards their plane. Checklists and inspections performed during every phase of flight. Every member counts, safety is always the first priority. Engines roar to life, radios chatter. Inside the cockpit only talk essential to the flight is spoken. An emergency signal! There, off to the right and getting stronger. Flying as low as allowed the crew looks for signs. There, 10 o'clock low is the objective, call in the location to base and ground teams. Would you like to be part of the action?

Disaster Relief
Another important service CAP performs is disaster-relief operations. CAP provides air and ground transportation and an extensive communications network. Volunteer members fly disaster-relief officials to remote locations and provide manpower and leadership to local, state and national disaster-relief organizations. CAP has formal agreements with many government and humanitarian relief agencies including the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Louisiana Wing during early summer of 2011 completed flying Aerial Search and Rescue (SAR) and Aerial Photography sorties in support of the Mississippi River Flooding Crisis. The aerial imagery obtained by Louisiana Wing was provided to the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), FEMA, the Louisiana National Guard, and other State and Federal agencies. Louisiana Wing flew over 180 sorties, and delivered over 7500 images of the flood-affected areas to assist our State and our communities with emergency preparations and disaster relief efforts.

Humanitarian Services
CAP flies humanitarian missions-usually in support of the Red Cross-transporting time-sensitive medical materials including blood and human tissue, in situations where other means of transportation are not available.

Air Force Support
It's hardly surprising that CAP performs several missions in direct support of the U.S. Air Force. Specifically, CAP conducts light transport, communications support, and low-altitude route surveys. CAP also provides orientation flights for AFROTC cadets. Joint U.S. Air Force and CAP search-and-rescue exercises provide realistic training for missions.

Are you a pilot? How about the excitement of being intercepted by Military jets or helicoptors? As a CAP pilot you may perform missions to help train Air Force, National Guard, or Coast Guard crews in interception. Read more about it here.

Counterdrug
CAP joined the "war on drugs" in 1986 when, pursuant to congressional authorization, CAP signed an agreement with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Customs Service offering CAP resources to help stem the flow of drugs into and within the United States.

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