Emergency Services Onboarding
This guide will explain how to get started with Emergency Services (ES) and outline the basic steps you need to take to begin training with Civil Air Patrol. Cadets and senior members are eligible to participate in ES through CAP, although some specific qualifications have age restrictions.
Cadets
Prior to participating in Emergency Services training activities, you must earn your first promotion (also known as the Curry Achievement).
Seniors
Prior to participating in Emergency Services training activities, you must complete Level 1 of the CAP Professional Development Program.
Step 1: General Emergency Services & CAP Online Training
GES covers the basics of ES in Civil Air Patrol and consists of one online, open-book exam called CAP Test 116. Because the only requirement for GES is the online exam, you may see both the test and the rating itself referred to as GES, GES 116, or CAPT 116. General Emergency Services (GES) is fairly easy, can be completed entirely online, and can be done at any time. While you can complete CAPT 116 at any time, GES will not show as complete for you until you complete either Level 1 (for senior members) or Curry (the first promotion for cadets).
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CAPT 116 covers information that can be found in the Civil Air Patrol Regular (CAPR) 60-3 "CAP EMERGENCY SERVICES TRAINING AND OPERATIONAL MISSIONS". For your convenience, the regulation is available here.
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The actual 116 test can be completed online in E-Services. When you login click "Axis" and then search for CAPT 116.
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If you have not accessed E-services before, please contact your squadron chain of command for help. E-Services is required for a lot of what you will do in Civil Air Patrol, and it is used for more than just Emergency Services.
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After you have completed GES, please take the additional online courses below. Both courses are easy and fairly quick to complete and may be required for other CAP activities that are not ES related, so we suggest that you take these courses regardless of your interest in CAP ES.
These two activities are online and available in E-Services through AXIS.
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Aircraft Ground Handling: This is required for any qualification that puts you in close proximity to CAP aircraft such as aircrew or flight line qualifications.
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Operational Security Training (OPSEC): This is required for participation in any CAP ES Activity.
Step 2: FEMA Online Training
The next step is to take the Independent Study Course offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Some of these courses are required for participation in most CAP Emergency Services missions, while others required for certain ES qualifications. It is important to note that these classes are not CAP-specific; most, if not all, emergency responders (police, fire, EMS) in the United States are required to take these courses at some point.
These courses explain how the structure of Emergency Response works in the United States. This is valuable information and, although the content is not difficult, it is longer and drier than the GES training you took earlier. Because of its length, you can leave the courses at any time and come back to pick up where you left off. These are not just tests, they are entire online courses with an exam at the end and take a few hours to complete.
Because these courses are not part of the CAP computer system, you must enter your certificates into E-Services manually when you complete them. If you are unsure of how to do this, please contact your chain of command and we can assist you in entering these certificates into the CAP system.
Note: These courses are not required to be completed before you start training for a CAP specialty qualification, but they must be completed before you can earn a CAP specialty qualification.
Required Courses For All Qualifications
Clicking on a course number below will take you to the FEMA Emergency Management Institute Catalog listing for the course, which is outside of the CAP.gov domain.
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IS-100: Introduction to the Incident Command System.
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IS-700: An Introduction to the National Incident Management System
Additional Courses
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IS-200: Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response (Required for Drone/sUAS Operations and Ground Team Leader)
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IS-800: National Response Framework, An Introduction (Required for Drone/sUAS Operations)
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IS-5: Hazardous Materials (Required for Drone/sUAS Operations)
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IS-26: Point of Distribution Course
Note: For some courses (such as 100), you may see the course listed as IS-100 or ICS-100. They are the same course: "IS" just means Independent Study. You may also see the course listed with a letter after than number (IS-100.c); these are just revision letters and ALL courses with the same number count for the same credit, regardless of trailing letters.
Introductory Communications User Training (ICUT)
Introductory Communications User Training is essentially a class on how to use radios in Civil Air Patrol and is a required course for almost all CAP specialty qualifications.
Up until now, everything you have done for Emergency Services has been an independent study that could be completed online and whenever you want. This is the first example of a Civil Air Patrol qualification that requires a practical assessment with a Civil Air Patrol Skills Evaluator. Essentially you have two options for this class.
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You can log into AXIS (just like you did for GES) and complete the majority of this class online, when you have some free time. When you complete the course, let you cadet staff know and they will coordinate with the squadron's ES and Communications staff to do the practical evaluation for you and get ICUT marked as complete.
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From time to time, our squadron hosts this class during a meeting night. If done this way you do not need to complete the courses in AXIS, as everything (including the practical test) will be completed during the meeting time.
Ultimately, it is up to you which route you decide to take. We personally recommend option 1, as this will allow you to complete the training MUCH sooner.
Specialty Qualification Training
If you are serious about emergency services training, please consider advancing your training both within CAP and outside of CAP. After you have completed GES, consider reviewing the specialty qualifications that you can earn through training in Civil Air Patrol. Some of the most common qualifications you may be interested in as a beginner are listed below, but there are many more to choose from, depending on your interests.
Flight Line Marshaller (FLM)
Direct aircraft on the ground and assist with other ground operations such as fueling, parking, and towing aircraft. No age limit, although you must be over the age of 18 to become a Flight Line Supervisor (FLS).
Urban Direction Finding (UDF)
Use electronic direction finding equipment to locate distress beacons from airplanes, hikers, or boats. No minimum age limit.
Ground Team Member Level 3 (GTM3)
Basic ground Search and Rescue with an emphasis on finding missing persons or distress beacons in the wilderness. There are 3 levels of GT qualifications (GTM 1,2,3) which each level building on knowledge from the previous one. First Aid Training is required for GTM3 and is generally done outside of Civil Air Patrol. GTM levels have no age limit, but you must be over 18 to qualify as a Ground Team Leader (GTL).
Mission Radio Operator (MRO)
Operate communications equipment at a mission base. No minimum age limit.
Unmanned Aerial System Technician (UAST)
Assist in planning and executing drone missions for damage assessment, search and rescue, and other missions. No minimum age Limit.
Unmanned Aerial System Mission Pilot (UASMP)
Operate Remoted Piloted Vehicle Systems as the Pilot-in-Command for search and rescue, damage assessment, and other missions. This requires an FAA part 107 Remote Pilot Certification for which the minimum age is 16.
Mission Aircrew
Mission aircrew consists of Scanners (MS), Observers (MO), and Airborne Photographers (AP). The minimum age for all of these qualifications is 18. Scanner is the first aircrew position you can train for and is a prerequisite for MO and AP. Aircrew operated manned Civil Air Patrol in a variety of missions including, but not limited to, Search and Rescue (SAR) and Disaster Relief (DR).
SAR/DR Mission Pilot (MP)
A mission pilot is the person responsible for actually flying a CAP aircraft during SAR or DR operations. This position requires at least a Private Pilot License, valid Class 3 FAA Medical, 175 hours PIC time, and qualification as a Mission Scanner and Transport Mission Pilot. The Mission Pilot qualification is one of the higher CAP qualifications and as such you will have a lot to do before you can start training for this. For more information, see CAP's Pilot Onboarding page.
GTM3,UAST, UASMP, MS, MO, AP, and MP (and others not listed here) are difficult qualifications to obtain and require a lot of hard work, study, and field exercise outside of regular CAP meetings to complete. As such, these qualifications result in the award of a specialty badge or wings that you can wear on all your CAP uniforms.