Eighteen Civil Air Patrol airplanes and 62 CAP members recently supported the Mississippi Army National Guard in an exercise designed to prepare Guard members for an upcoming deployment.
Acting in its capacity as the U.S. Air Force auxiliary, CAP worked with the Guard to certify operators who will soon be deployed to Washington, D.C., in support of air defense efforts.
The exercise, called Falcon Virgo, is regularly conducted to test responses, systems, and equipment. In this exercise, the mission for Civil Air Patrol pilots is to simulate incursions into restricted airspace for National Guard members who will be responsible for protecting the skies in and around Washington, D.C. This is a certification process that occurs regularly for Guard members who will replace those currently on assignment in the nation’s capital.
CAP pilots in single-engine Cessna airplanes acted as tracks-of-interest and entered into restricted airspace while North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) aircrews responded, honing their intercept skills.
In this case the training area was a restricted U.S. Army range in Texas, which was simulated as restricted airspace in Washington. Guard members then had to secure the airspace.
The number of airplanes in the exercise area increased as the replacement Guard members demonstrated their ability to track more aircraft, CAP officials said.
The U.S. Coast Guard, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, also provided intercept services to the National Guard members.
“In a time when all Department of Defense units are under travel restrictions, CAP was still supporting this essential training mission as tasked by our parent organization, the U.S. Air Force,” said Col. Joe Smith, CAP’s Southwest Region commander. “What our volunteer professionals do to help train active duty servicemembers as part of the Total Force is invaluable.”
Flights ran 24 hours a day from March 18-22, 2020. CAP airplanes made about 18 flights a day (six per each eight-hour shift) along routes designated by the exercise evaluators to meet training objectives, CAP officials report.
Falcon Virgo is a recurring exercise in support of Operation Noble Eagle, which started as the military response to the terrorist attack of 9/11 to place a greater emphasis on the surveillance and control of airspace over Canada and the U.S.
Civil Air Patrol operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90% 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 more than 80 lives annually. CAP’s more than 66,000 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 nearly 28,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs.