up a Tanker Protection Fund. Realizing the importance of the CAP in continuing shipping, these companies donated $40,000 to the cause. After Cap had proven itself to the military, the Army Air Force assisted with financing the organization.CAP had several missions during the war, aside from its primary mission of coastal patrols along the Southern and Eastern U.S. They expanded on their coastal patrol mission by carrying depth charges and bombs during their missions, although they were civilians, because they were under the direction on the Army Air Force not a lot of people protested to the arming of the planes. It also prevented more U-boats from escaping before the Navy could arrive. It provided target towing to allow Army AAA training. They also performed search and rescue missions both over land and sea. They also assisted with ice patrols in the Great Lakes, allowing shipping to start earlier in the spring. They also provided courier service for the military, freeing more aircraft and pilots needed to fly combat missions. CAP in the west helped the U.S. Department of Fish and Game with coyote and wolf control and forest fire patrols. In Sacramento, CA they received special orders from the Army to fly planes to chase birds from the rice crops that were grown in the area. They also were enemy bombers dropping paper bombs to test the responses of air raid drills in cities. They also performed humanitarian missions, delivering food and medical items where needed. They also patrolled along the U.S. border of Mexico looking for spies and saboteurs, much like the original idea proposed by Wilson.It was the unique design of CAP that allowed it to perform its coastal patrol mission better than any other group. Since the U.S. was formally at war, the Army and Army Air Force were spread thin in its wartime preparations. By 1942, the Eastern Defense Command consisted only of the 26th Infantry Division and the First Air For...
