Orange County Civil Air Patrol Squadrons Hosts Celebration

Members of Civil Air Patrol's South Coast Group 7 held a celebration, as part of a series of statewide celebrations, on Saturday July 17, 2021, to commemorate the remobilization of the California Wing and to thank the public for its ongoing support of Civil Air Patrol (CAP).

Members from the six Orange County Civil Air Patrol squadrons worked hard to make the event, held at AFI Flight Training Center at Fullerton Airport, one that Civil Air Patrol members and the general public would enjoy.

A Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172, the California Wing Mobile Kitchen, informational booths and displays, aviation-themed activities, flight simulators and demonstrations highlighted CAP's diverse capabilities to all who attended.

South Coast Group 7 commander, Lt. Col. Stanley Clark said, "I was proud of the fantastic team of people who planned and executed this event. We fed approximately 250 people, members, friends, their families, and others from the community. It was wonderful to see people in person and to celebrate what Civil Air Patrol does and will be doing."

Distinguished guests included Fullerton City Council Member Ahmad Zahra and the former commander of Civil Air Patrol's Pacific Region, Col. Jon Stokes.

CAP members and guests alike agreed that the celebration was a success. 1st Lt. Edward Nickless, the Deputy Commander for Cadets at Saddleback Composite Squadron 68 said, "It was truly great to see (South Coast) Group 7 come together for this event." One of the parents in attendance remarked, "My son really enjoyed flying the glider simulators, I had to pry him away from them." Clark said, "It was a privilege to show what we do to our friends, families and community members."

About Civil Air Patrol: Established in 1941, Civil Air Patrol is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and as such is a member of its Total Force. In its auxiliary role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 single-engine Cessna aircraft and more than 2,000 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and performs about 90% of all search and rescue operations within the contiguous United States as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Often using innovative cellphone forensics and radar analysis software, CAP was credited by the AFRCC with saving 130 lives during the past fiscal year. CAP's 54,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. As a nonprofit organization, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace education using national academic standards-based STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. Members also serve as mentors to over 20,000 young people participating in CAP's Cadet Programs. Learn more about Civil Air Patrol at http://www.gocivilairpatrol.com.