Photo by Rick Thompson AMC Jeffrey Becker fields some questions from Civil Air Patrol cadets from Bethesda-Chevy Chase Composite Squadron during a recent visit to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.

Today, the CAP is more widely known for its three key missions: emergency services, aerospace education and its cadet program — and the St. Mary’s Squadron of the CAP Maryland Wing is fulfilling all three of those missions in a spectacular way. Last year the wing flew more than 30 search and rescue missions and made 23 finds.

Heading the St. Mary’s Squadron is Lt. Col. Tim Corrigan, who in his professional life is also an attorney with the Indian Head Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center and a retired Army (Judge Advocate General) lieutenant colonel.

‘‘I’m extremely proud of this squadron,” Corrigan said. ‘‘All of our members are volunteers ... everyone are on call to help in time of need. We help with search and rescue, we help in emergency situations such as hurricanes and tornadoes, we help find lost persons, and we aid agencies such as the Homeland Defense Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency.”

Corrigan, who holds a masters rating in the CAP’s legal specialty field as well as being a qualified mission observer and a former pilot, singled out his cadets for special pride.

‘‘They are just a great bunch of kids,” he said of the mostly high-school aged youth who sign on for the CAP experience. They drill here (at the St. Mary’s Regional Airport) every week and are enthusiastic about the program.”

Don Vanwormer, public affairs officer for the squadron, said the cadet program encompasses youth up until the age of 21, when they become senior members of CAP.

‘‘Only our seniors are allowed to pilot search and rescue missions,” he said, ‘‘but cadets take orientation flights and get involved in the aerospace program.”

In the aerospace program, which also serves the senior members and the flying public, education begins about the dynamics of flight, including physics, history and courses in new technologies such as the global positioning system and other advances in avionics. There are also courses in general aviation to help pilots improve flying skills and learn about flight and even space exploration.

‘‘Our cadets also go to extensive summer camp programs, in fact most of our cadets there this summer,” Vanwormer said. ‘‘They get involved in ground school courses and learn a lot about aviation as well as our mission areas such as search and rescue.”

Vanwormer said the cadets are offered ‘‘orientation flights” when they come into CAP and advance from there.

Reflective of the CAP cadet program is Allison Smith, a 9th grade student at Great Mills High School, and the daughter of Pax River V-22 Osprey pilot Jeff Smith.

‘‘I’ve been up a number of times already,” she said. ‘‘I’ve gotten to fly (with a licensed instructor) and have landed the plane. That’s the hardest part; the takeoffs are easy.”

Joining Smith was friend Greg Williams, a sophomore at Great Mills High School and, like Allison, the son of a Pax River officer.

Williams said he was involved in CAP because he wanted to help with search and rescue efforts. ‘‘I don’t know if I’ll ever get to fly because of my vision, but there are a lot of other great things about the Civil Air Patrol besides flying and that’s why I’m doing it,” he pointed out.

Victor Travers, of St. Mary’s Ryker High School, said he joined CAP when he was just 11 years old.

‘‘They’ve changed it to 12 years old now, but I joined under the old rules. I’ve been here for five and a half years. I’ve already gotten to solo,” he said.

Vanwormer pointed out that the cadets have rank structure similar to the Air Force and begin as basic airmen. They advance through written tests and physical fitness.

‘‘We are very strict about conduct becoming,” he said. ‘‘Cadets must be well groomed in appearance, keep up grades and not be involved with drugs or any bad activities. We want impressive young people.”

He noted that the squadron’s cadets in their crisp uniforms were instrumental with Pax River’s huge air show two years ago and stood out in helping the air station serve the large crowds that attended.

According to the CAP regulations regarding the youth program, cadets must ascribe to the following oath during their membership: ‘‘I pledge that I will serve faithfully in the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program, and that I will attend meetings regularly, participate actively in unit activities, obey my officers, wear my uniform properly and advance my education and training rapidly to prepare myself to be of service to my community, state, and nation.”

The cadet program is just part of CAP, however, and senior members of the squadron are equally involved in learning or upgrading skills in aviation, search and rescue techniques, as well as performing humanitarian and emergency services, homeland security and augmenting of the U.S. Air Force’s flight needs. The most senior of the seniors is 50-year member John Johnson.

Johnson, a former blimp, S2F, and P2 naval flight officer, related much of the history of the CAP and its missions.

‘‘After World War II, in which the patrol had shown it had success in hunting down submarines, President Truman got a law passed where we would be an auxiliary to the U.S. Air Force (created in 1948). We now have more than 50,000 members nationwide,” he said. ‘‘This squadron is the largest one in Southern Maryland but there is a caretaker one in Charles County.”

Like Johnson, most of the senior members are former military. Vanwormer is former Navy; Corrigan is former Navy and Army; and one of the primary CAP pilots is former Navy (F-8 Crusader) pilot and retired Capt. Bob Pender.

‘‘A lot of our cadets will be going into the military too,” Corrigan said.

The squadron falls under the command of Group Three of the Maryland Wing with the ultimate national headquarters at Maxwell AFB, Ala. All responses to emergencies or search and rescue operations must be generated through the chain of command and with the Air Force but Corrigan said that the CAP has assisted in helping local law enforcement, rescue squads as well as groups such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Maryland (NEMA) state agency of first response as well as other governmental, state and county agencies when it gets the command’s call. CAP has been performing such missions for the U.S. for more than 60 years, he said.

The St. Mary’s Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol meets on Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. at the St. Mary’s County Regional Airport in the Capt. Walter Duke building in California, Md. More information about the Civil Air Patrol is available at www.cap.gov.