SANFORD — For Brittany Park, 16, being a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol is like having a second family.

And while not everyone who is a CAP cadet chooses a military career, right now, that is what Park is looking at doing — either joining the U.S. Air Force after graduation, or the U.S. Army.

“I really, really love it,” she said of the Civil Air Patrol.

There’s flying, of course — but so much more. There’s camaraderie, core values, aerospace education, emergency services, search and rescue and more.

The Civil Air Patrol, established in November of 1941, is an auxiliary of the United States Air Force. During World War II, it was under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Air Corps, and logged more than 500,000 flying hours, sank two submarines and saved hundreds of crash victims.

Each state has a Civil Air Patrol “wing,” or state headquarters, and there are nine squadrons in Maine.

Until a couple of years ago, young people — cadets— and seniors — those older than 21, had to go a bit further afield if they were interested in joining, either to Portland, or Portsmouth or Rochester, New Hampshire.

But there was interest in a York County squadron, and so in 2014, Blain Cote, who used to command the Portsmouth squadron, established an auxiliary called a ‘flight’ of another squadron — a preliminary step to establishing a full Sanford squadron a year later. The Sanford Composite Squadron meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays each week in the big blue hangar at Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport.

On Nov. 22, nearing the CAP’s 75th anniversary, the squadron held an open house, where promotions were made, the squadron’s new Cessna 172 was on display, and folks were encouraged to ask questions about the squad and its operations.

Capt. Andrew Goldman, a senior in the squad, is a pilot and physician at Southern Maine Health Care. He’s been with CAP for a couple of years.

“I wanted to fly for a purpose,” he said. “Any pilot can rent a plane and fly from point A to point B. This gives me the ability to fly with a purpose, and to help kids learn something meaningful and helpful.”

Tyler Buck, also a senior member, is a search and rescue officer for the Sanford squadron, and is a volunteer EMT and firefighter with Waterboro Fire and Rescue. Tyler, with his brother Taylor own Buck Brothers Construction in Waterboro, and he works private security for a large Portland-area insurance firm.

“I love the military type environment and the core values, — respect, integrity, self-discipline,” said Buck, who is eyeing a career in law enforcement. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop being in it.”

Vincent Thelin of Kennebunk was a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol in the 1970s.

“I was out for a long time and then my son Nathaniel got involved as a cadet,” said Thelin — so he joined too and is deputy commander of the cadets.

According to Cote, the commander, who was promoted to Lt. Col. on Tuesday and named squadron commander of the year for Maine, the squadron is comprised of 27 members, made up of 14 cadets and 13 adult members, the seniors.

“I love emergency services and aerospace education,” said cadet Timothy Martell of Wells. “I’m looking at aerospace engineering, and learning about airplanes helps me and its a fun thing to do. I enjoy it.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].