New Senior Members
Joining as a Squadron 131 Senior Member
Welcome, and thank you for your interest in Civil Air Patrol! Joining our squadron is a straightforward process. Here's what to expect:
📋 Before You Apply
Attend three Squadron 131 meetings (they don't have to be consecutive). This gives you a chance to get to know us and decide if CAP is right for you. After your visits, you'll have a brief pre-membership meeting with the Commander and his staff.
💳 Membership Dues
Once you're ready to join, you'll submit an application and be fingerprinted. At that time, the following annual dues apply:
- CAP National Dues: $79.00
- Squadron 131 Dues: $100.00
Dues must be renewed each year on your anniversary date to remain in good standing and continue participating in squadron activities.
🖥️ Getting Started Online
Once your application is processed, CAP National Headquarters will assign you a CAP ID Number. You'll use this to create your account at capnhq.gov and begin your online training.
Required training includes:
- OPSEC — Operational Security Awareness (completed during first sign-in; mandatory for all members)
- Level 1 Orientation — Your first major training milestone. Takes approximately 4–5 hours to complete and can be done at your own pace. You must pass a 35-question quiz with a score of 80% or higher.
- General Emergency Services (GES) — Required before participating in any SAR or emergency missions (CAPT 116 and CAPT 117)
- FEMA Courses — Three online FEMA courses (IS-100, IS-200, IS-700) available free at training.fema.gov
Don't worry — you won't be doing this alone. Existing members have all been through the same process and are happy to help guide you along the way.
🎖️ Choosing Your Role
CAP offers a wide range of specialty roles to match your interests and skills — from flight crew positions to communications, public affairs, logistics, aerospace education, and more. You'll discuss and select your specialty track at a Summary Review meeting with the Commander once your initial training is complete.
CAP Specialty Tracks List (CAPR 50-17,
This list contains short descriptions of each specialty track.
200 — Personnel Officer. Performs duties related to processing unit personnel actions such as membership applications, promotions, and charter changes. Establishes and maintains up-to-date personnel files and ensures all regulations, policy letters, and forms required to administer the unit’s personnel program are available and up-to date. Develops local unit personnel policies and procedures, provides assistance and guidance to the unit commander and other staff members on all personnel matters, and monitors the overall personnel program within their jurisdiction.
201 — Public Affairs Officer. Assists the commander on all media relations and internal information matters. Plans, develops, and implements a public affairs program based on media relations, community relations, and internal information activities. Acts as liaison with other organizations and agencies as required in the performance of these activities.
202 — Finance Officer. Responsible for posting ledgers and preparing vouchers, checks, and deposits for unit accounts. Prepares unit budget, controls monies, monitors transactions, and prepares monthly activity reports. Keeps the commander advised in all financial matters.
203 Inspection Officer. Performs inspections when required. Prepares inspection checklists for all areas of inspection and prepares written reports of inspections as required. Reviews publications, plans, policies, and statistics to determine areas of special interest. Brief the commander and staff on inspections and recommendations.
204 – Professional Development Officer. Plans, coordinates, and schedules senior member training activities. Maintains unit training records, training library, and operates audio-visual equipment. Prepares documentation in support of training awards for the commander’s review. Coordinates member training accomplishments with other staff members. Instructs at training courses. Advises the commander on training required to meet unit manning needs.
205 — Administration Officer. Maintains master publications library. Prepares correspondence, reports, schedules, inventories, and requisitions. Operates a centralized correspondence and message distribution center. Reviews locally developed publications to ensure they are administratively correct prior to publication.
206 — Logistics Officer. Responsible for the receipt, storage, distribution, recovery, and
proper disposal of all CAP property held by the unit. Recommends allocation of motor vehicles and maintains motor vehicle records. Responsible for vehicle maintenance, marking, and painting. Ensures aircraft are painted and identified in accordance with current directives and makes sure aircraft are maintained in an airworthy condition.
210 — Flight Operations Officer. Responsible for the management and control of unit aircrews, aircraft, and flight operations. Understands CAP flight management policies and procedures and the administrative procedures governing flight operations. Assists in the preparation of plans, programs, and directives to govern the unit.
211 — Operations Officer. Develops operations policies and procedures to ensure mission accomplishment and provide guidance to unit personnel. These activities include developing standing operating procedures, evaluation methods, accident prevention programs, and reporting procedures. Requests transportation and mission authorizations.
212 — Standardization/Evaluation Officer. Technician: Performs duties as a CAP instructor pilot and check pilot, responsible for flight and ground instruction as well as flight evaluation in CAP aircraft. Senior: Performs duties as a CAP check pilot, administers check flights, written examinations, and maintains pilot training folders. Master: Wing pilot designated to administer check flights, written examinations, and develop wing training and evaluation procedures.
213 — Emergency Services Officer. Assists the commander by managing and directing emergency service activities. Establishes working relationships with local agencies responsible for search and rescue, disaster relief, and other local emergencies. Develops emergency service plans, training programs, and standard operating procedures, and maintains a rapid alerting system to assemble emergency service resources as needed.
214 — Communications Officer. Maintains and operates radio equipment. Familiarizes communications trainees with the basic concept of CAP communications operation. Operates CAP radio stations. Develops and implements communications plans, programs, and directives. Plans and conducts communications conferences, meetings, and workshops.
215 — Aerospace Education Officer. Implements aerospace education activities and duties involving cadets, seniors, aerospace education members, communities, and schools. Develops materials and activities and promotes aerospace education programs for the local community. Assists the commander in making aerospace education-related policy decisions.
216 — Cadet Program Officer. Conducts cadet training in aerospace education, leadership, physical fitness, moral leadership, and other activities. As special assistant to the commander, implements and monitors programs in cadet personnel and administration, cadet activities, aerospace education, or leadership laboratory.
217 — Safety Officer. Manages the safety program. Develops safety plans, programs, and directives. Coordinates with other staff agencies to develop accident prevention procedures and collects data to determine safety program effectiveness. Conducts accident investigations.
218 — Plans and Programs Officer. Gets programs started and completed, and keeps the commander informed on the progress of each program. Develops plans and programs to accomplish assigned tasks. Coordinates the activities of other staff sections and assigns
units in accomplishing goals and objectives set out by the commander.
219 — Legal Officer and Medical Officer. Discuss these Specialty Tracks with the Squadron 150 PDO.
220 – Health Services. See CAPR 160-1.
221 — Chaplain. Provides worship, liturgies, rites, and religious observations. Conducts pastoral counseling, spiritual nurture, and ethics and values instruction. Provides group pastoral care and spiritual renewal. Gives advice on religious, ethical, and quality of life concerns and maintains ecclesiastical and clergy relations. Discuss with the PDO
222 — Commanding Officer. Specialty code 222 is used only to designate personnel in command positions and is not a specialty training track.
223 — Historian. Responsible for the unit's historical program. Collects and preserves significant material historically. Publishes general and special histories, monographs, and studies. Publishes material to inform the general public about CAP history. Attends meetings of historical and other learned societies.
225 — Moral Leadership Officer. The MLO performs in a capacity similar to a chaplain, but is not required to meet the ecclesiastical endorsement and education level prerequisites for a chaplaincy. There is no MLO study guide at this time. Talk to your senior program officer and wing chaplain if you are considering this specialty.
226 — Recruiting and Retention Officer. (Under revision)
227 — Information Technology Officer.
Note: At your meeting with the unit commander, you will choose one of these specialty tracks based on your interests and the needs of the squadron. So it is important for you to review the list before your meeting with him.
✈️ Aviation & Flight Operations
- Flight Operations Officer — Manages unit aircrews, aircraft scheduling, and flight operations
- Mission Pilot / Transport Pilot — Flies CAP aircraft on search and rescue, disaster relief, and transport missions
- Mission Observer / Mission Scanner — Supports airborne search operations as part of the flight crew
- Airborne Photographer — Captures aerial imagery in support of disaster relief and SAR missions
- Standardization & Evaluation Officer — Serves as a CAP instructor and check pilot, conducting flight evaluations and training
