Donate
Operation Pulse Lift
Operation Pulse Lift
Motto: "And the beat goes on."
Background & History
(Updated 24 October 2026)
https://youtu.be/rHcr2ePrfW8?
SUBJECT: The U.S. Air Force Auxiliary – Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is chartered by Congress for three programs; Aerospace Education, Cadet Programs, and Emergency Services (ES). ES programs include Search & Rescue, Drug Interdiction, and Disaster Relief (DR). One DR operation is blood support. Known as Operation Pulse Lift (OPL), it was in CAP’s Top 10 Initiatives/Achievements from 2020-2025, its largest mission since World War II; and longest running DR/humanitarian mission. It has received the President’s - Volunteer Service Award; the First Air Force-AFNORTH /AFSPACE Commander's Meritorious Mission Award and has been recognized by Presidents of the American Red Cross; the Director, Defense Health Agency, and both U.S and Air Force Surgeon Generals.
DISCUSSION: Beginning 12 April 2017 to 2019, CAP stood up OPL; an unprecedented/innovative capability providing facilities and Blood Support Teams (BST); hosting 12 Blood Donor Centers (BDC) and collecting 527 units from one Arizona site. On 17 March 2020, at the urging of the U.S. Surgeon General, OPL was mobilized to support CAP’s COVID-19 response, as the nation had lost 80% of its donor sites due to COVID. The first BDC was on 15 April, and the initial 9-month surge CAP hosted 42 BDCs. It also supported individual member collections of 1,530 units. By 10 April 2023 (the last day of the COVID-19 Presidential Disaster Declaration), 21,171 units were collected, potentially saving 63,902 lives during the pandemic. This resulted in Outstanding Service recognitions from the President/CEO of the American Red Cross (ARC). By 2021, OPL quintupled, collecting 74,619 units at 23 sites, along with 415 blood transports, many going to hospitals supporting Pacific coast wildland fires, hurricanes along the Gulf of Mexico, and a southwest winter storm. Throughout the pandemic there were over 22,000 public encounters during 378 BDC events, but with stringent adherence to both safety and infectious disease protection protocols, enforced by CAP Safety Officers, not a single COVID cross-infection occurred to a CAP member. None!
- In April 2021, OPL began supporting the Armed Services Blood Program; at Dyess AFB and Joint Base-San Antonio, TX; the Air Force Academy, Ft Carson, and Peterson AFB, CO; Ft Huachuca and Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ; West Point, NY; U.S. Naval Academy; FT Knox, KY; Eielson AFB, Ft Wainwright, Joint Base-Elmendorf /Richardson, AK; Keesler AFB, MS, Nellis AFB, NV, Cannon AFB, NM, F.E. Warren AFB, WY; Ft Bragg, NC; and Pensacola NAS, FL; and Joint Base – Hickam, Schofield Barracks, and Kaneohe MCAS, HI. In August 2021 OPL surged to support the collection of 230 units for transport to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington D.C., and Landstuhl Army Medical Center, GE; for 2021 Kabul Airport suicide bombing. Since 2021, 74, units were collected/processed during 134 BDC/ASWBPL events at the 34 military bases. On 7 March 2026 OPL surged to support Operation Epic Fury, including first-time simultaneous support to the Armed Services Whole Blood Processing Labs at Joint Base - McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and Travis AFB, and many military installation blood collection sites. In April 2026 OPL supported blood processing at four bases in Hawaii and in Okinawa, Japan as a part of Exercise Pacific Pulse; first Emergency Services mission ever supported by a CAP overseas unit.
- On 11-12 December 2021, a major tornado outbreak hit the Quad-State region inflicting 90 deaths and hundreds of injured. At the request of the ARC, OPL surged, and supported the collection of 222 units of blood from members in 31 CAP Wings and National Headquarters. On 28 September 2022, Cat 4 Hurricane Ian hit Florida, generating a 1,000-unit shortfall, CAP responding with 404 units. In October 2024, during the Hurricane Helene/Milton response, members collected/donated 366 units to the Southeastern U.S. On 11 January 2025 the Arizona Wing surged with two BDCs tor hospitals supporting the Los Angeles Fire Disaster and on 13 December 2025 the Southern California Floods. In January 2026 the mission surged to counter the shortfalls in blood collections due to severe winter and influenza conditions, and in August 2026 the declared National Blood Emergency.
- For seven years, CAP has received national ARC Premier Blood Partner status; in 2022 the ARC Ironman Award, and 2023 the ARC National Impact Award for nation-wide blood support efforts; and in 2023, 2024, and 2025 the Business and Private Sector Integration and Public Sector Partnership Award, by the International Association of Emergency Managers, for excellence in Emergency Management. In 2026 it received the ARC Biomedical Services Excellence Award; and President’s Award, the highest national honors bestowed by ARC.
CONCLUSION: CAP’s Presidential/DOW/USAF Award-winning mission has supported 1,044 events, at 115 sites; in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and Japan; collecting/processing 124,024 blood units. With 3,000+ participating members, it is CAP’s largest/longest worldwide humanitarian mission in history; supporting a dozen+ disasters and concurrent military operations, saving 55 times more lives (372,072) than all combined missions in CAP’s 85-year history; as the nation’s most Cost-Effective/Innovative–and Largest Lifesaving Mission; costing $0.00 in six years.
For more information, and how to get more involved in Operation Pulse Lift, go to the following links.
- Operation Pulse Lift - Important Contacts: Important Contacts | Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters (gocivilairpatrol.com)
- CAP Blood Donor Center Schedules and Locations (for security reasons, does not include military locations): Operation Pulse Lift - Master Schedule | Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters (gocivilairpatrol.com)
- CAP Support to the Armed Services Blood Program: Operation Pulse Lift - Military Support | Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters (gocivilairpatrol.com)
- How to support American Red Cross "Hometown" Blood Program: Operation Pulse Lift - "Hometown" Blood Collection Centers"Hometown'" Blood Collection Centers | Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters (gocivilairpatrol.com)
- Operation Pulse Lift - "In the News:" Operation Pulse Lift - News | Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters (gocivilairpatrol.com)
- Operation Pulse Lift - Briefings: Operation Pulse Lift - Briefings | Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters (gocivilairpatrol.com)
- Operation Pulse Lift - Planning Documents: Operation Pulse Lift - Planning Documents | Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters (gocivilairpatrol.com)
