Membership
As of December 2012, CAP has 34,604 senior members and 26,881 cadets in over 1,600 local units in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and at numerous overseas United States Air Force installations. CAP members are civilians and are not paid by the US government for their service. Rather, members are responsible for paying annual membership fees, and must pay for their own uniforms and other related expenses.
Senior membership is open to all US citizens, and resident aliens aged 18 and over who are able to pass an FBI background check. There is no upper age limit, nor membership restrictions for physical disabilities, due to the number of different tasks which members may be called on to perform. Cadet membership is open to those aged between 12 and 18 who maintain satisfactory progress in school, as determined by the cadet's unit commander; upon their 18th birthday, cadets may become senior members or remain in the Cadet Program until they are 21.
The Civil Air Patrol motto, to which all members ascribe, is "Semper Vigilans", Latin for "Always Vigilant". All CAP members are also obligated by their service to the organization to abide by its core values: integrity, volunteer service, excellence, and respect.
Read more about this topic: Civil Air Patrol
Famous quotes containing the word membership:
“The two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don’t acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead.”
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (b. 1922)