[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 186 (Tuesday, November 14, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H9183]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       THE CIVIL AIR PATROL'S PACE OF OPERATIONS IS EXTRAORDINARY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Abraham) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the exceptional 
emergency and operational contributions of the Civil Air Patrol and its 
58,000 volunteers. In the near future, I hope to also talk about two 
other primary missions of the CAP: youth development and aerospace/STEM 
education.
  Literally every day, the CAP responds to life-threatening 
emergencies, homeland security requests, and a wide range of missions 
for States and the Federal Government with over 500 single-engine 
aircraft in every State and in Puerto Rico. As an active member since 
2004, I have had the privilege of flying many of these missions, so I 
speak from personal experience.
  Over the past 15 months, the CAP has responded to four hurricanes, 
major wildfires in the West, dozens of other emergencies, including 
search and rescues, in addition to vital military missions on a daily 
basis. The high operational tempo has helped ensure that the CAP, for a 
second year in a row, has flown over 100,000 hours.
  The CAP's pace of operations is extraordinary when one considers that 
these missions are flown by volunteer professionals who pay dues to 
belong to the CAP, and they must take time from their work or use their 
vacation times to actually fly these missions.
  Vital for communities and for every State are the CAP's disaster 
relief operations. The mission is best highlighted by the CAP's massive 
volunteer response to the three recent rapid-fire hurricanes--Harvey, 
Irma, and Maria--that made U.S. landfall from Texas to the Virgin 
Islands.
  While additional flight hours are still expected, 2,800 hours have 
already been flown and nearly half a million photographs have been 
taken for FEMA, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, Puerto Rico, 
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These photos are being used to assess 
damage and to focus on recovery efforts.
  To do this, the CAP has used 118 aircraft and over 1,000 personnel 
from 44 wings--there is a wing for every State and Puerto Rico and 
D.C.--and region headquarters across the Nation. For large-scale 
operations, such as long-term hurricane support, the CAP often depends 
on the assistance of these adjacent wings in different States and 
different regions of the country.
  I was able to view up close and personal hurricane recovery 
operations when I flew several sorties during Hurricane Harvey. On one 
mission, I was responsible for taking full-motion video of three dams 
along the Texas-Louisiana border to help establish that they were in 
good condition and safe for those living in surrounding areas. Those 
assessments could mean the difference between life and death for many 
communities.
  In California, where fast-moving wildfires destroyed over 8,900 
homes, the CAP continues to fly photographic missions in support of 
FEMA and California. Hundreds of sorties have been flown and 13,586 
photos taken. These photos are being used to help emergency managers 
analyze the damage and assess the assistance needed by those whose 
homes and businesses have been damaged or destroyed.
  In addition to conventional photography, the CAP's California 
operations have included testing a new leading-edge tactical aerial 
imagery system, which helped eliminate distortion in photos, making it 
easier for FEMA to analyze the data and making them a more effective 
tool for damage assessments. The CAP is pleased to be part of this test 
program, and it is expected to help improve wildfire damage 
assessments.
  Operational missions for the Air Force and other government agencies 
occur daily and without fanfare. These include, among others, being a 
target for Air Force interceptors, helping to train combat ground 
forces, and escorting military remotely piloted aircraft for training. 
Air Combat Command's First Air Force provides operational coordination 
for these CAP missions, which comprise about 80 percent of the First 
Air Force weekly operational flying.
  I was privileged recently to fly with the CAP Congressional Squadron 
on a Fertile Keynote mission. This mission is unusual, as it provides 
CAP aircraft as a slow-moving target for its Air Force pilots to 
practice interception techniques. The Congressional Squadron is unique, 
as it includes Members of Congress and congressional staff who fly with 
CAP airmen.
  Our mission that day was to simulate a general aviation aircraft that 
was in controlled airspace without permission. Two F-16 Vipers 
scrambled from Joint Base Andrews to find and definitely intercept us. 
These missions provide excellent training at a fraction of the cost to 
the government, and they are very valuable in training our great men 
and women who wear Air Force uniforms.
  Another key mission is to help train ground combat soldiers who are 
about to deploy overseas. Two CAP squadrons are tasked with providing 
this support.
  Mr. Speaker, I will certainly continue this discussion later.

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