Over 200 cadets of the Civil Air Patrol have been at the Camp Bowie National Guard Training Facility in Brownwood for a weeklong camp teaching the fundamentals of the Civil Air Patrol. Cadets from across the state, Arkansas and even as far away as Florida are taking part.
The camp is led by 65 returning cadets, under the supervision of 30 senior mentors (adults). 158 cadets are experiencing a week’s worth of leadership, space and aeronautic education, drills and ceremony training, along with marksmanship classes.Lieutenant Colonel Phil Kost, the camp’s commander, explained that the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the official auxiliary of the United States Air Force. CAP offers its members, both adults and cadets, hands-on experience in its three program focuses of emergency services (such as search and rescue efforts), aerospace training and cadet programs (such as the camp this week in Brownwood). Civil Air Patrol is open to adults of any age and their cadet programs are open to youth beginning at age 12 and end when the cadet turns 21.
“Through the Civil Air Patrol, cadets are given ample opportunity to get exposed to things not offered in many other programs,” said Lt. Col. Kost. “They get to visit military bases and learn about planes, about the mechanics and how to fly planes.” Cadets can also learn flight marshaling and participate in large air shows, directing traffic of the aircraft at air shows such as the Civil Air Patrol’s National Blue Beret in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
During the Brownwood camp, the cadets also had a chance to train in a weapons simulator, which taught marksmanship and gave their instructors a chance to show the cadets how to improve. Through the aerospace classes, they learned to problem solve using physics through kite building and an egg drop experiment. The cadets designed a device to keep the egg from breaking when dropped from a certain height and had to make a presentation to their leaders explaining why and how their project worked. They also built miniature rockets and had a chance to launch them at the base.
CAP offers camps such as this twice a year, in both basic and intermediate levels, said senior member Captain Chris Baker. He stated that the next camp is tentatively scheduled at Camp Swift. All leaders are volunteers and uniforms for CAP cadets are donated by the Air Force. The camps offer a minimum of 30 hours of leadership training, 15 hours of classroom education (on a variety of topics), and 16 hours of physical education, according to Baker. Cadets learn to work as a team and are taught the lesson “there are no individuals, we are all a team.”
Through cadet program, segments involving study and performance in the five program area can be completed to achieve awards, earn scholarships, become eligible to attend special CAP activities and can even earn advance placement if a cadet chooses to join the Air Force.
After the cadet program, members of CAP may enter the senior program which starts at age 18. One of the mentors at this week’s camp is 71 and is still very active with the program, said Baker. Membership is made up of people from all walks of life, Baker said.
He explained that Civil Air Patrol is often utilized in emergency search and recovery efforts such as a plane crash and were most recently deployed in the Blanco and San Marcos area which suffered flooding and several fatalities. CAP resources were embedded with other emergency entities and even helped by taking aerial photos, said Baker.
Texas Director of Cadet Programs Lt. Col. James Peace voiced appreciation to the Texas Army National Guard for allowing the use of Camp Bowie for this week’s encampment, “It’s great to partner with the Texas Army National Guard. Without their support, and their support across the state, we couldn’t host these camps.”
Pictured above and below are students during rocket building/launching and kite building/flying exercises.
There are nearly 2,000 squadrons and over 60,000 members of The Civil Air Patrol nationwide. The Civil Air Patrol is the Official Auxiliary of the United States Air Force. CAP is divided into regions (groups of states), then wings (each state is a wing plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico), then groups (i.e. Houston area, or Dallas area), then to squadrons. Texas Wing has 7 groups. Texas Wing is the third largest wing in the Civil Air Patrol; out of 52 wings nationwide. The staff of Texas Wing is devoted to cadet program excellence. To find a squadron near you and get involved, or for more information, please visit
Pictured above are cadet leaders Chuck Baker, C/1Lt. CAP and James Andrews C/2dLt. CAP.
