Organization of Civil Air Patrol

Civil Air Patrol is organized onto five command levels - National, Region, Wing, Group and Squadron. Each level is directly responsible to the level above it and exerts authority over all levels below it. This responsibility/authority relationship is actually a teamwork relationship designed to maximize success of the individual units as well as the organization as a whole. Any breakdown in teamwork, whether within a level or between levels, limits our ability to rise to our highest potential.

Each command level in Civil Air Patrol is tasked with specific duties. Generally though, higher command levels concentrate more on planning and facilitating while the lower levels are involved in the mechanics of serving our customers.

Imagine, if you will, a squadron trying to do search and rescue, aerospace education and cadet programs without the activities and facilities provided by Groups, Wings and National. The squadron gets no airplanes unless they buy them; no training material, unless they design them; and no money, unless they earn it. It is not a pretty picture. Very little would get done and what did would be very difficult to accomplish and of a much lower quality than we now enjoy.