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OFFICE OF CIVILIAN DEFENSE
WASHINGTON, D. C.
CAP
No. 31 BULLETIN
CIVIL AIR PATROL
August 28, 1942 Unit Commanders: In recent months, major emphasis has been placed upon coastal patrol as the
greatest and most immediate service the civil airmen could render in the war effort. The first duty of the Wings,
Groups, and Squadrons has been to act as training, recruitment, and replacement centers for this activity.
Now the Patrol is entering a new phase in which attention is focused upon inland operations. The goal is develop
active-duty missions in each Wing so the, practice flights will be replaced more and more by actual wartime
assignments.
lNLAND MISSIONS--This work includes such missions as courier service for the armed forces, official
agencies, end war industries; flights to help ground force training by target towing, tracking, searchlight
drill, tests of the spotter system, mock air raids, and simulated strafing of troops; reconnaissance,
observation, and inspection flights; and area patrol to protect forests, pipe lines, end war facilities.
All this work is long past the experimental stags. Every one of the above types of missions is being flown
as regular routine. Thousands of miles are traversed each day and a substantial number of flying hours
are put in each night by CAP pilots.
Scarcely a day goes by without the receipt of inquiries not merely for non-recurrent missions to be flown
in a day but for continuing assignments which will employ men and planes for indefinite periods. In some
areas, the work already promises to be heavy enough to require collaboration between two or three
Wings to handle it. As time goes on, this work is spreading through the States.
REORGANIZATION--Simplification of Wing organizations is especially important in regions where active duty
work is imminent. In many areas, the Group Commands have ceased to be
necessary for effective functioning. The Squadron is the basic CAP unit. In some cities where there are several
Squadrons flying from outlying airports, or in States where there are too many Squadrons to be coordinated
effectively from the Wing Headquarters, active Group Commands are highly useful. But in many cases the
Group Staffs no longer have a great deal to do and are holding good men who could be more useful as
Squadron Officers.
Some of the smaller Wings are doing away with Group Commands altogether and thus streamlining their
operations. Consolidation of Squadrons also is taking place. One big active Squadron can do a better Job and
hold the interest of its members much more successfully than two or three little Squadrons acting separately.
MOBILIZATIONS--There is no better way to stimulate interest in the Patrol than to hold Wing and Group
mobilizations which bring the local units together for teamwork in mass maneuvers and friendly rivalry in
drill and flight competitions. The Indiana Wing, after the success of its recent mobilization, is planning
two more State-wide exercises.
In Alabama, the Tuscaloosa NEWS reports that after its outfit went over for the bombing of Birmingham
and took honors in the air and on the ground, the Birmingham CAP is drilling to out-do the Tuscaloosa
unit. “But", says the NEWS, “we doubt if any community in the country can boast of a CAP unit that
exceeds Tuscaloosa in air or land-performance.” When home towns take this much pride in their patrols,
the CAP is doing the kind of job that the country expects of it.
WEAR REGULATION UNIFORMS—The uniform and insignia prescribed in CAP directives are in
accordance with War Departmentent instructions. CAP officers are especially warned not to wear Army
rank insignia without the red CAP shoulder loops lest they attract the unfavorable attention of the MPs.
4-0181-bu-wp
PATROL OFFICERS--Several hundred officers have been sent formal appointments as CAP Majors,
Captains, and Lieutenants. Appointment of many others is under way. Procedure is similar to that
followed by the Army. When applications are received on CAP Form SR-11, signed by a Wing
Commander, the information on the blanks is checked for conformity to the tables of organization. A
personnel order, listing a number of officers, is then drafted and the individual appointments are issued
pursuant to the order. Following is a sample:
OFFICE OF CIVILIAN DEFENSE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
CIVIL AIR PATROL
APPOINTMENT OF OFFICER
City Portland
State Maine
Name Guy P. Gannett
Pursuant to Paragraph 3
Date of Rank 1 Jul 1942 Serial No. 1-1-14
Personnel Order No. 5, , Dated 1 Aug 1942
This appointment will terminate with the relief from duty of this officer from
assigment as
Commanding, Wing 11
The date of rank is July 1, 1942, for all officers who were serving on the assignments in which they were
appointed on or prior to that date, when the War Department authorized the designation of military titles for
CAP officers. Other officers rank from the date on which they started service on their assignments. Those newly
assigned are required to serve 60 days in an acting capacity at the next grade below what the table of
organization calls for. For example, a new Wing Commander serves 60 days as Captain and becomes a Major
on completion of this period.
All appointments terminate on relief from duty from assignment. A Group Commander, for example, is a Captain
as long as he serves in that capacity. If he goes on coastal patrol as a pilot, he serves as a First Lieutenant. If
he goes as observer, he serves as Second Lieutenant, the grade prescribed for that duty. It is felt that CAP
members will not wish to hold higher ranks than are prescribed for Regular Army Officers for comparable
assignments.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS—Appointments of non-commissioned officers, and of Flight Officers who
rank between the grade of Sergeant and Second Lieutenant, are issued within the Wings. However, a form
similar to that for officers will be issued by National Headquarters to those who have completed their basic
training directives.
4-0181-bu-wp
WASHINGTON, D. C.
CAP
No. 31 BULLETIN
CIVIL AIR PATROL
August 28, 1942 Unit Commanders: In recent months, major emphasis has been placed upon coastal patrol as the
greatest and most immediate service the civil airmen could render in the war effort. The first duty of the Wings,
Groups, and Squadrons has been to act as training, recruitment, and replacement centers for this activity.
Now the Patrol is entering a new phase in which attention is focused upon inland operations. The goal is develop
active-duty missions in each Wing so the, practice flights will be replaced more and more by actual wartime
assignments.
lNLAND MISSIONS--This work includes such missions as courier service for the armed forces, official
agencies, end war industries; flights to help ground force training by target towing, tracking, searchlight
drill, tests of the spotter system, mock air raids, and simulated strafing of troops; reconnaissance,
observation, and inspection flights; and area patrol to protect forests, pipe lines, end war facilities.
All this work is long past the experimental stags. Every one of the above types of missions is being flown
as regular routine. Thousands of miles are traversed each day and a substantial number of flying hours
are put in each night by CAP pilots.
Scarcely a day goes by without the receipt of inquiries not merely for non-recurrent missions to be flown
in a day but for continuing assignments which will employ men and planes for indefinite periods. In some
areas, the work already promises to be heavy enough to require collaboration between two or three
Wings to handle it. As time goes on, this work is spreading through the States.
REORGANIZATION--Simplification of Wing organizations is especially important in regions where active duty
work is imminent. In many areas, the Group Commands have ceased to be
necessary for effective functioning. The Squadron is the basic CAP unit. In some cities where there are several
Squadrons flying from outlying airports, or in States where there are too many Squadrons to be coordinated
effectively from the Wing Headquarters, active Group Commands are highly useful. But in many cases the
Group Staffs no longer have a great deal to do and are holding good men who could be more useful as
Squadron Officers.
Some of the smaller Wings are doing away with Group Commands altogether and thus streamlining their
operations. Consolidation of Squadrons also is taking place. One big active Squadron can do a better Job and
hold the interest of its members much more successfully than two or three little Squadrons acting separately.
MOBILIZATIONS--There is no better way to stimulate interest in the Patrol than to hold Wing and Group
mobilizations which bring the local units together for teamwork in mass maneuvers and friendly rivalry in
drill and flight competitions. The Indiana Wing, after the success of its recent mobilization, is planning
two more State-wide exercises.
In Alabama, the Tuscaloosa NEWS reports that after its outfit went over for the bombing of Birmingham
and took honors in the air and on the ground, the Birmingham CAP is drilling to out-do the Tuscaloosa
unit. “But", says the NEWS, “we doubt if any community in the country can boast of a CAP unit that
exceeds Tuscaloosa in air or land-performance.” When home towns take this much pride in their patrols,
the CAP is doing the kind of job that the country expects of it.
WEAR REGULATION UNIFORMS—The uniform and insignia prescribed in CAP directives are in
accordance with War Departmentent instructions. CAP officers are especially warned not to wear Army
rank insignia without the red CAP shoulder loops lest they attract the unfavorable attention of the MPs.
4-0181-bu-wp
PATROL OFFICERS--Several hundred officers have been sent formal appointments as CAP Majors,
Captains, and Lieutenants. Appointment of many others is under way. Procedure is similar to that
followed by the Army. When applications are received on CAP Form SR-11, signed by a Wing
Commander, the information on the blanks is checked for conformity to the tables of organization. A
personnel order, listing a number of officers, is then drafted and the individual appointments are issued
pursuant to the order. Following is a sample:
OFFICE OF CIVILIAN DEFENSE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
CIVIL AIR PATROL
APPOINTMENT OF OFFICER
City Portland
State Maine
Name Guy P. Gannett
Pursuant to Paragraph 3
Date of Rank 1 Jul 1942 Serial No. 1-1-14
Personnel Order No. 5, , Dated 1 Aug 1942
This appointment will terminate with the relief from duty of this officer from
assigment as
Commanding, Wing 11
The date of rank is July 1, 1942, for all officers who were serving on the assignments in which they were
appointed on or prior to that date, when the War Department authorized the designation of military titles for
CAP officers. Other officers rank from the date on which they started service on their assignments. Those newly
assigned are required to serve 60 days in an acting capacity at the next grade below what the table of
organization calls for. For example, a new Wing Commander serves 60 days as Captain and becomes a Major
on completion of this period.
All appointments terminate on relief from duty from assignment. A Group Commander, for example, is a Captain
as long as he serves in that capacity. If he goes on coastal patrol as a pilot, he serves as a First Lieutenant. If
he goes as observer, he serves as Second Lieutenant, the grade prescribed for that duty. It is felt that CAP
members will not wish to hold higher ranks than are prescribed for Regular Army Officers for comparable
assignments.
NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS—Appointments of non-commissioned officers, and of Flight Officers who
rank between the grade of Sergeant and Second Lieutenant, are issued within the Wings. However, a form
similar to that for officers will be issued by National Headquarters to those who have completed their basic
training directives.
4-0181-bu-wp