About
Michigan Wing is made up of 8 groups, 35 squadrons, 4 flights and more than 1,300 members. These dedicated volunteers preform 3 Congressional chartered missions: Aerospace Education, Cadet Programs and Emergency Service. Michigan Wing is part of the Great Lakes Region which includes 5 other states.
The Civil Air Patrol is celebrating its 75th year of service to America. Founded in 1941 the Civil Air Patrol defended our country during WWII. In 2014 Civil Air Patrol received the Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the heroic efforts of our World War II veterans.
Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force, which consists of Regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and 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.
Civil Air Patrol’s 58,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program.
Col Chris Ballard is the commander of the Michigan Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.