About
Civil Air Patrol Scottsdale Composite Squadron 314 - The "Black Sheep"
Squadron 314 has two membership groups: one group is for members aged 18 or over - Senior Members. The "senior" designation in Civil Air Patrol is a membership type for "senior officers" that are not "cadets". Our senior members primarily involve in the emergency services function for our communities such as search and rescue, aerial photography, disaster assessment, etc. Our second group is for cadets - supervised and mentored by senior members - for young men and women ages 12 to 21 years old (joined before turning 19).
The squadron's "Black Sheep" alias was adopted in the early days of the squadron charter in 1968. The exact reason of using the Black Sheep moniker was lost to time and memory of the longest serving member in the squadron. "Black Sheep" originated from the WWII fighter squadron, commanded by Marine Corps Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington, and made popular by the mid-1970's television drama series "Baa Baa Black Sheep". Some long-time members thought that it might be due to the squadron designation of 314 being similar to the Boyington's Black Sheep Squadron VMF-214. Whatever the origin reason of using the moniker, the modern-day Scottsdale Black Sheep membership is unique in its own way and in no way resembles that of Major Boyington's misfits. Perhaps a fitting similarity was drawn from the highly successful WWII fighter pilots and the dedication of the 314 members in their services to the country.
As of March 2023, our membership stands at 54 seniors, 26 cadets, and several patron members. Patron members are adult members for various reasons cannot actively participate but still want to support the squadron. The squadron meeting's attendance averages in the mid 20's during COVID virtual meetings, as some members have other responsibilities to their families and/or career.
The squadron actively participate in a monthly Arizona Wing-wide training operations exercise (OPEX) every month. Our members support the OPEX both in staffing as aircrews and as Incident Command Post personnel. The OPEX are funded by the Civil Air Patrol and the purpose is to hone our search and rescue skills and maintain mission readiness.
If you choose to join our squadron, you will find our goals worthwhile; you will be proud of our air search and rescue (SAR) mission supporting local, state and federal governments; you will discover our meetings enjoyable and informative; you will love the camaraderie with other members, connected by a love of aviation.
Click here for >> Vision Statement from newly appointed Squadron Commander, Capt. John Huls
How to Join
