At Year's End, Civil Air Patrol's National
COVID-19 Response Continues to Impress
Civil Air Patrol has been conducting COVID-19 missions for communities, states and the nation for 280 continuous days now. Over that period, CAP members have contributed more than 36,000 days of volunteer service in response to the pandemic. 

There are 17 CAP wings and one CAP region with ongoing COVID-19 missions. These wings are performing a total of 19 Air Force-assigned missions and nine corporate missions.

Here is a statistical rundown of what CAP's COVID-19 missions have delivered, as of Dec. 29:
  • 7,799,751 meals;
  • 986,005 pounds of food;
  • 2.6+ million masks;
  • 174,668 test kits;
  • 115,800 test samples;
  • 3,726 vaccine (vials); and
  • 1,486 blood units.

One of the recent blood donors is Lt. Col. Diego Irizarry (pictured above) of Puerto Rico Wing Group 2. He participated Dec. 23 in CAP's Operation Pulse Lift Blood Donation Program.

Started by the Arizona Wing, the goal of the program is to collect 1,500 blood units for the American Red Cross by Dec. 31. To contribute, go to Schedule Your Blood Donation With The Red Cross (redcrossblood.org)  to find a nearby donor center and then let rditch@cap.gov know when you or your family members give blood before the end of the calendar year.

Every unit of blood can potentially be used to save three people.
Tax Deduction Helps You Support CAP–Act by Dec. 31!
Following special tax law changes made earlier this year, cash donations of up to $300 made before Dec. 31 are now deductible when people file their taxes in 2021.

Under the CARES ACT, individual taxpayers can claim an "above-the-line" deduction of up to $300 for cash donations made to charity during 2020. This means the deduction lowers both adjusted gross income and taxable income—translating into tax savings for those making donations to qualifying tax-exempt organizations like CAP.

Nearly nine in 10 taxpayers now take the standard deduction and could potentially qualify for this new tax deduction. Don’t miss out!
Mass. Unit Salutes Fallen via Wreaths Across America
COVID-19 concerns curtailed Wreaths Across America observations at locations across the U.S. this year, but members of the Massachusetts Wing’s Beverly Composite Squadron donned their winter wear and face masks to help place 300 wreaths at veterans’ graves at Danvers' Walnut Grove Cemetery.

Among those paying tribute to the fallen were Cadet Airman Bailey Davis (left) and Cadet Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Pratt.
NESA-MTT Wraps Up Unprecedented Year of Service

On Dec. 17, CAP's National Emergency Services Academy-Mobile Training Team (NESA-MTT) completed its 15th course delivery for FEMA since being requested to assist them through the COVID-19 crisis.

Both of FEMA's schools closed in March because of the pandemic. That left them with an unfunded requirement to support Just-in-Time training for many emergency managers working in emergency operations centers across the country.

When asked to support, the NESA-MTT stepped in and provided qualified instructors to support both FEMA K2300 EOC (pictured) and Incident Command System Instructor courses. As a result, 362 students from across the nation and 51 international students were trained and 20 ICS instructors were certified.

In all, 71 NESA-MTT classes were provided to 2,027 students around the world (including CAP members in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Europe and the Far East) in 2020; 57 were conducted virtually through CAP's “Global Campus.”
Fellow Family Physicians Honor Mo. Wing's Miller
The Missouri Wing’s long-serving medical officer, Lt. Col. David A. Miller, has been honored with the St. Louis Academy of Family Physicians’ 2020 Greater St. Louis Community Health Award.

A practicing physician for more than 30 years, Miller received the award for his ongoing work coordinating Affinia Healthcare’s free COVID-19 testing program, which has performed almost 25,000 tests predominately in underserved communities in St. Louis, while also continuing to serve as Affinia’s assistant medical director and urgent care clinical director.
66th Cadet
Earns 'Wings'

On Dec. 22, Cadet Senior Airman Samantha Rist of the Minnesota Wing became the 66th cadet to earn her private pilot certificate through CAP's Cadet Wings program.

Rist is the eighth Mankato Composite Squadron cadet to do so.
NHQ News
Are You Planning for the New Year?

CAP now offers a free Personal Estate Planning Kit as a tool for organizing your estate—saving you time, protecting your assets and helping you establish your legacy.

Set family goals, create an estate plan, keep a digital record of important information and organize everything in one place.
CAP Accepting Applications for Nat'l Staff Positions

National Headquarters is accepting applications for the following national volunteer staff positions:
  • National Grants and Research Manager
  • Grants Specialist - Multiple Positions Available
  • Marketing Project Manager
  • Senior Graphic Designer
This Week's Top Headlines
“Search Continues for Missing Day County Woman”

“From Shelters to Blood Donations, American Red Cross Pivoted to Help Arizonans in Pandemic”
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