Coast Rangers
“ The Civil Air Patrol is definitely a force-multiplier and adds value to our Nation's homeland security efforts .” - Secretary Tom Ridge , Department of Homeland Security.
Civil Air Patrol, the official United States Air Force Auxiliary, is a nonprofit organization with almost 64,000 volunteer members nationwide. It performs 95 % of all continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force rescue Coordination Center . Volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 27,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 60 years.
The squadron has both officer (ages 21 +) and cadet (between ages 12 and 21 ) members, hence the name composite. The squadron has been in existence since 1949 and has served the Charlotte , South Sarasota , Lee and Desoto counties since then.
We have recently moved into a new buidling on the airport property. Our new location is inside the General Aviation terminal building, 8000 Skylane Road. The cadets meet every Monday at the CAP building, starting at 6:30PM. The officers meet at the CAP building every Tuesday, starting at 7:00PM. Check the calendar page for the latest meeting information.
The Charlotte County Composite Squadron is located at the Charlotte County Airport (PGD) in Punta Gorda, Florida.
Under the command of Maj. Jim Kaletta, the almost 100-member Charlotte County Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol participates in emergency services, search and rescue, air reconnaissance, communications, aerospace education, and cadet programs. The Charlotte Squadron has one Cessna 182 aircraft which can act as a communication platform, photographic platform, training platform, and search and rescue platform. The base operations are located on the airport grounds and within short walking distance to the general aviation ramp.
On August 13 , 2004 , hurricane Charley destroyed the facilities of the Charlotte County Squadron. Those facilities had been part of the original Punta Gorda Army Air Field vacated after P- 51 training was completed at the end of WWII. Visit the Squadron History page for more on our past.
If you would like to help support our squadron financially you may send your tax deductible donations to:
CHARLOTTE COUNTY COMPOSITE SQUADRON
28000 A-21 Airport Road
Punta Gorda, FL 33982-2452
If you would like more information about our squadron, please contact the Squadron Commander, Major Jim Kaletta.