United States Air Force Organizational Excellence Award

In an unprecedented act of recognition, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James awarded the United States Air Force Organizational Excellence Award to CAP for the period of Oct. 1, 2012-Aug. 31, 2016

Eligibility:
The following CAP members are authorized permanent wear the AFOEA ribbon; senior members (including fifty-year and life members), and cadet members, with active membership for at least one day during the award period (1 Oct 2012 to 31 Aug 2016)

Authorized uniforms:
The AFOEA ribbon is authorized for wear only on the CAP Air Force style blue uniform combinations.
a. This ribbon may be worn on the: Cadet Semi-Formal Dress uniform; Blue Service Dress (Class A) uniform, and the Long and Short Sleeve Blue Shirt (Class B) uniforms, as defined in CAPM 39-1.
b. This ribbon is not authorized for wear on: The Mess Dress uniform; any CAP corporate uniform combination; utility uniform, work uniform, flight uniform, as defined in CAPM 39-1.

Order of Precedence:
If worn, the AFOEA ribbon shall be worn between military ribbons and CAP ribbons, as follows:
a. CAP members without federal military ribbons: As a military award, the AFOEA ribbon has precedence above all CAP decoration ribbons. Therefore, if worn, the AFOEA ribbon shall be the highest ribbon worn and displayed. No CAP ribbons shall have precedence above the AFOEA.
b. CAP members with current or prior military service: If worn, the AFOEA ribbon shall have precedence below your lowest authorized military award or service ribbon. All ribbons earned from the military shall have precedence above the AFOEA ribbon. If wearing military and CAP ribbons, the AFOEA ribbon shall be worn between the military ribbons and the CAP ribbons.

Citation

The Civil Air Patrol distinguished itself by exceptionally meritorious service from 1 October 2012 to 31 August 2016. During this period, Civil Air Patrol emerged as a true total force partner flying 36,367 operational sorties as the Air Force Auxiliary.

They were the cornerstone of Air Force rescue operations executing 2,943 search and rescue missions for the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center flying 5,040 hours and saving 272 lives. Civil Air Patrol was an integral part of our homeland defense flying 1,950 air defense sorties providing target support for intercept aircraft. In response to multiple disasters, they valiantly aided relief efforts flying 3,334 hours in support of federal and state disaster response authorities. This included operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy involving an amazing twenty-one wings using seventy-three aircraft flying 696 sorties and 1,380 hours capturing 158,000 images used by emergency responders while ground crews manned shelters and delivered life-saving supplies. When historic flooding threatened South Carolina, Civil Air Patrol volunteers flew 180 search and rescue and imagery sorties capturing 4,480 images.

They supported 959 Air Force and joint exercises including critical training missions simulating unmanned aircraft systems by using sensor modified aircraft to prepare Air Force, Army, and Navy joint terminal attack controllers for their worldwide combat missions. Additionally, aircrews flew 29,395 hours helping law enforcement agencies seize 2.9 billion dollars in illegal drugs and currency leading to 1,530 arrests.

In the classroom, the Civil Air Patrol-sponsored Aerospace Connections in Education program has reached twenty-thousand elementary school children, elevating academics and fitness with an engaging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-themed curriculum. An annual powerhouse at the Air Force Association’s Cyber Patriot National Youth Competition, Civil Air Patrol bested over three thousand other teams by finishing second in 2015 and third in 2016. Finally, through their Cadet Encampment Assistance Program, Civil Air Patrol has sponsored over 3,700 hundred cadets nationwide, increasing Air Force reach while embracing diversity and growing camp attendance by twenty percent. Civil Air Patrol members provided an incredible 165 million dollars annually in volunteer service hours.