combat air patrols (caps) began to be flown 24/7 over major cities in the united states. ang squadrons at 26 bases were put at tremendous strain to support the operations. the air national guard ran continuous round-the-clock combat air patrols over new york city and washington, d.c., until spring 2002. in addition, when key events occurred such as the 2002 winter olympics in utah, space shuttle launches in florida, baseball's world series and football's super bowl, similar air patrols helped provide security. the air national guard also flew random patrols over various urban areas; nuclear power plants; major military installations such as macdill afb, florida, peterson afb, colorado, offutt afb, nebraska and scott afb, illinois that were home to various combatant command headquarters; weapons storage facilities and laboratories. because estimates of the nation's security situation became more optimistic, in spring 2002, the air force eliminated the continuous patrols and substituted random ones by the summer.