Aerial Search Missions Part of Civil Air Patrol Dorian Response

COLUMBIA, S.C. –-As the sun rose over the State of South Carolina on Friday, three red, white, and blue Civil Air Patrol planes took off from airports across the state with grid patterns in hand. Their mission—perform a uniform search to identify any situations in which assets would need to be deployed for rescue purposes.

The search grids for these South Carolina Civil Air Patrol aircrews stretched from the South Carolina-North Carolina border all the way to the Savannah River, at the Georgia-South Carolina border. During the search, air crews took note of flooding, damage to homes, and impassible roads.

Meanwhile, in Columbia, more than 50 cadets and senior members reported for their first day of service at the Mission Base, operated in the South Carolina Wing headquarters near the airport. Their mission—supporting the pilots in the air by operating a communications network state-wide, setting up computer networks for uploading the thousands of photographs which will be taken throughout the response, and planning for future operations.

The South Carolina Wing trains its members year-round in emergency service and disaster response techniques, and is well-prepared and ready to serve the citizens of South Carolina following any impact by Hurricane Dorian, and to support neighboring states which might be impacted by the hurricane.

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. In this role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90 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 80 lives annually. CAP’s 60,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. In addition, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to over 25,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com or www.CAP.news for more information.