Flathead Civil Air Patrol squadron largest in Montana

In the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Americans were worried about their ability to protect the country’s coastlines from foreign invaders.

So great was this concern that more than 150,000 citizens founded the Civil Air Patrol on Dec. 1, 1941. Just one week later a surprise raid by the Japanese at the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor killed more than 2,400 and wounded 1,282.

The creation of the Civil Air Patrol was a serendipitous move, to be sure. The devastation of Pearl Harbor quickly proved the need for additional surveillance. Under the authority of the Army Air Forces, Civil Air Patrol pilots flew more than a half-million hours scouring the coastline during World War II, looking for submarine activity as well as ships and personnel in distress.

“The planes actually carried bombs with them,” Montana Wing Squadron Commander Bob Schneller said about the telltale yellow planes that initially were flown. “We sank three German subs.”

Schneller said one German U-boat commander reportedly exclaimed “those nasty little yellow planes kept us away from shore.”

The Civil Air Patrol wasn’t limited to coastline protection, however. In late December 1941 the Daily Inter Lake reported the Kalispell airfield would be the center of a Civil Air Patrol unit for Northwest Montana. Robert F. King, operator of the Kalispell Flying Service at the time, offered the airport and all the equipment in the hangar, including seven trainer planes adapted for mountain flying.

The Inter Lake article urged all licensed pilots — about 65 at that time — to register “at the earliest possible date.”

Kalispell’s Civil Air Patrol service included observation of backcountry areas.

By January 1942 the Inter Lake published a news story in which the Montana wing commander labeled the state’s new Civil Air Patrol potentially “one of the best civilian emergency air squads in the nation.

After World War II the Civil Air Patrol was established as a federally chartered nonprofit corporation.

In 1948 the patrol was designated as the Air Force auxiliary with three key missions: emergency services, cadet programs and aerospace education.

Fast-forward 75 years and the Flathead Composite Squadron 53 of the Civil Air Patrol is the largest of eight squadrons that make up the Montana wing. The Flathead squadron currently has 41 cadets and a couple of aspiring cadets in the wings, which will bring the membership to 43 by year’s end.

“We’re a month away from winning Squadron of the Year for a fourth consecutive year,” Schneller said proudly.

He sometimes gets asked why the Civil Air Patrol is so popular among young cadets in the Flathead Valley. With a smile he alludes to his senior leadership.

“We have a great group of senior leaders,” he said.

Schneller himself has 47 years of flying experience and a decade with the Civil Air Patrol, the last four years of which have been as squadron commander for the Flathead Composite Squadron.

Tom Reynolds, a former West Point professor, leads the aerospace education program that teaches adult and cadet members and the community about the importance of the aerospace industry and related technology.

Capt. Maureen Rickard is the deputy commander of the cadets. Cadet programs educate youths ages 12 to 20 in leadership, aerospace, fitness and character development.

Another reason why the Flathead squadron attracts so many cadets is public exposure.

“We’re out in the public a lot,” Schneller said.

Cadet color guards present the flags at numerous public events year-round, including participation in various parades.

The Civil Air Patrol provides opportunities for cadets to explore careers in aviation, space and technology. Locally, cadets get to tour planes at Glacier Jet Center, among other activities.

The emergency-services arm of the Civil Air Patrol doesn’t offer pilot training, but does teach the basics of aviation, Schneller said. Cadets fly five times during their career and attend a 10-day encampment annually in which they get to fly in either a C-130 or Black Hawk helicopter.

The Flathead squadron’s aircraft typically flies 200-plus hours a year. It’s used for search-and-rescue training, and occasionally is called upon to help locate people lost in the backcountry.

Nationwide the Civil Air Patrol is a major operator of single-engine general aviation aircraft used for myriad missions, including orientation flights for cadets and search-and-rescue operations.

About a year ago the Civil Air Patrol was moved from Air Force’s Air Training Command to the First Air Force, a move that provided additional funding for the program, Schneller said. The Civil Air Patrol is now fourth in the Air Force program hierarchy that begins with Active Duty Air Force and is followed by the Air Guard and Air Reserve.

The Flathead squadron will participate in the Wreaths Across America program in mid-December. A wreath-laying ceremony is planned at 10 a.m. Dec. 17 at the Veterans Memorial in Depot Park in Kalispell.

Nearly 1,400 wreaths will be placed on veteran graves in the Flathead. This year the Flathead squadron raised a record $19,000 — $8,000 more than last year — to allow the purchase of an additional 322 wreaths for Woodlawn Cemetery in Columbia Falls. Seven-hundred wreaths will be placed in Glacier Memorial Gardens and 220 in Conrad Cemetery.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.