Civil Air Patrol and international cadets expand horizons through International Air Cadet Exchange

Washington, DC – The Civil Air Patrol, International Air Cadet Exchange Program, kicks off this Saturday, July 19 which sets out to foster international goodwill through the International Air Cadet Exchange.

The International Air Cadet Exchange gives about 70 CAP cadets and 16 escorting officers an opportunity to serve as ambassadors by visiting participating countries and promoting international friendship and understanding through a common focus on aviation. Cadets will be selected to visit one of the following countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Turkey or the United Kingdom. CAP members also host foreign teens and international officers and escorts visiting the U.S., who participate in aviation-related events alongside them. In addition to the countries above, cadets from Israel and Ghana will participate in the U.S. phase of IACE. The inbound program starts in Washington DC where participants have an opportunity to visit government officials and tour the nation’s capitol before setting out to one of the following states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington.

The delegation that is visiting Maryland comes from Israel and Hong Kong, during their visit to Maryland we anticipate visits to historical sites in Gettysburg, Pa., western Maryland, and Annapolis; aviation and military sites at Warfield Air National Guard Base, Weide Army Air Field, and Andrews Air Force Base; and we’ll take some time for fun at Hershey Park and the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.

IACE is conducted by the International Air Cadet Exchange Association, a league of 19 air cadet organizations. CAP has sponsored cadet participation in the program since 1948.

The activity is one of about 30 National Cadet Special Activities being sponsored by CAP across the nation this summer. These activities allow cadets to hone their skills in a variety of areas, including search and rescue, flight and emergency services, science, leadership fundamentals, citizenship and military courtesies, and to explore aerospace technology and aviation careers. In 2007, more than 1,200 youth participated in 31 CAP-sponsored summer activities.

Through its cadet program, CAP builds strong citizens for the future by providing leadership training, technical education, scholarships and career education to young men and women, ages 12 to 20.

Civil Air Patrol, the auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 56,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 103 lives in fiscal year 2007. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the nearly 22,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 65 years.

For more information about CAP or its cadet program, visit www.cap.gov.

There are approximately 1,300 members of CAP in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 42 search and rescue missions and were credited with 31 finds. For more information, visit www.mdcap.org.

Ms. Julie DeBardelaben
Deputy Director Public Affairs
Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters