What resources are available at National Headquarters for preparing and research into wing and squadron histories?
CAP National Headquarters does not have a historian on staff that maintains unit histories or provides research of unit or wing histories.
The CAP National Historian is the point of contact for wing and region histories which are required annually. The regulations encourage the preparation of periodic histories at the group and squadron level but do not mandate them. For details on the CAP historical program see below from CAPR 210-1.
1. Purpose and Objectives of the CAP Historical Program. The CAP Historical Program is intended to systematically collect historical data and prepare accurate, objective, impartial and useful accounts of the organization, development, administration, operations and other features of the Civil Air Patrol and its antecedents. The program's principal objectives are to provide historical information for CAP planning, operational and educational purposes; to preserve and disseminate the history of Civil Air Patrol; and to prepare and publish scholarly books and studies that keep the public informed about Civil Air Patrol and its cadet program, aerospace education and emergency services missions.
CAPR 210-1 also requires region and wing commanders to appoint Historians to their staff, and it requires all regions and wings to submit an annual history to the CAP National Historian.
You should also refer to CAPP 5, CAP Written History Self-Study Guide, CAPP 6, CAP Oral Histroy Self-Study Guide, and CAPP 223, Historian Specialty Track