Civil Air Patrol members are receiving training in AOPA's Airport Watch program. CAP national commander Maj. Gen. Rick Bowling announced Airport Watch will soon add more than 63,000 CAP members to participate in the nation's largest and fastest-growing GA airport security program.
"The training provided by AOPA's Airport Watch dovetails with our own CAP training to provide significant protection for general aviation in our country," he said.
"AOPA is pleased that CAP is supporting the Airport Watch program," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "Their participation and willingness to draw on the depth of their membership is important in our community-wide effort to report potential terrorist and criminal activities at our community airports to law enforcement. The more eyes we have focused on our country's flight lines, the more effective AOPA's Airport Watch will become."
Andy Cabula, AOPA senior vice president of government and technical affairs, presented the Airport Watch program to the CAP National Board earlier this month in Washington, D.C. Cabula said AOPA has effectively moderated government security restrictions on general aviation airports and airspace, partly by taking the initiative to create AOPA's Airport Watch.
The Civil Air Patrol, the official Air Force auxiliary, performs search-and-rescue operations, disaster relief, and homeland security missions at the request of federal, state, and local agencies. CAP members also serve as mentors to almost 27,000 young people participating in CAP cadet programs.
Under the AOPA Airport Watch Program, pilots, airport staff, and now CAP members are trained to report suspicious activities at their home airports. Airport Watch is supported by a government-provided toll-free hotline: 866/GA-SECURE.
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