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National Guard, Dec 2001 by Cathcart, Sue

Guard air sovereignty mission turned inside out Sept. 11 after terrorists turn jetliners into missiles

On Sept. 9, a Russian air force exercise was about to begin and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, was to be on the lookout for possible violations of U.S. or Canadian airspace.

Two days later America's air defense resources stood poised to intercept bogies out over the waters that surround the continental United States, never imagining that the threat would come from within.

"We've not been charged; we've not been concerned with aircraft that originate inside of our airspace," said Air Force Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart, NORAD's commander in chief They believed, Eberhart said during an October Senate hearing on homeland defense, that aircraft flying within the United States were authorized to do so. "So we've been looking out."

However unexpected the hijackings of Sept. 11 were, two F-15s from Otis Air National Guard Base near Cape Cod, Mass., were airborne within six minutes of getting the scramble order from NORAD. Time and distance worked against the fighter jets, which were about eight minutes away when the second plane flew into the World Trade Center buildings. More planes were scrambled from Langley Air Force Base, Va., when it became apparent that at least two other planes had been taken over and one was heading for Washington, D.C.

"Everything is different now," is a refrain heard in nearly every part of the country since Sept. 11. It's certainly true in the air defense business, which is an integral part of the overall homeland defense response known as Operation Noble Eagle. Since the attacks on New York City and the Pentagon and the thwarted effort that ended in Pennsylvania, fighter aircraft provide roundthe-clock coverage over New York City and the nation's capital. More planes prowl the skies in other parts of the country at the discretion of NORAD, vigilant for stray civilian aircraft that might be used as manned missiles. And if necessary, those U.S. pilots, mostly of them in the Air National Guard, will do whatever it takes to prevent tragedy on the scale of Sept. 11, including shooting hijacked airplanes out of the sky.

Although military officials provide scanty details about exactly how homeland aerospace defense is being carried out, one thing is certain: the Air National Guard is playing a major role.

Across the country, Guardsmen from more than 30 fighter wings and nearly two-- dozen refueling wings have been mobilized under the presidential call-up. And First Air Force, which is staffed with mostly citizen airmen, is responsible for coordinating air defense operations over the continental United States.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, NORAD had to rethink its strategy for protecting U.S. airspace. "Homeland defense or aerospace defense of North America is our mission," said Maj. Ed Thomas, a NORAD spokesperson. Traditionally, that has meant keeping watch for attacks by incoming missiles, space vehicles or aircraft. "Our mission has evolved to meet the domestic air threat, but the NORAD mission remains constant," Thomas said.

One very apparent change is the size of the mission and the force employed. There are more than 100 fighters standing strip alert at about 26 bases around the country 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That's up from seven alert sites in pre-Sept. 11.

Officials won't confirm the identity of the alert units or their components, but Thomas said Air National Guard "F-15s and F-16s are the foundation" of the combat air patrols. Tanker units from across the total Air Force are providing aerial refueling services to keep the fighters aloft.

Surveillance and special mission aircraft, including five North Atlantic Treaty Organization-owned Airborne Warning and Control Systems planes, or AWACS, from Germany are also assisting in NORAD operations. The NATO planes were deployed to the United States to free up U.S. Air Force AWACS aircraft to deploy elsewhere and alleviate the operational tempo of the high-- demand aircraft and crews. They are crewed by NATO personnel and provide tactical control for air operations, Thomas said.

"Since 9-11 we've adapted our defense posture to insure our fighters can be anywhere in a few short minutes," said Thomas. "Before then, we weren't looking for American civilian aircraft. The focus was on responding to long range radar indications of threats to the U.S."

To identify possible domestic threats more immediately, NORAD has added a new conference line to link key NORAD and Federal Aviation Administration parties 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Officials at the command and control center at Cheyenne Mountain Air Station in Colorado, regional NORAD sectors and FAA centers across the country are able to communicate instantly. "They can hear each other breathing," said Thomas.

In addition to deploying ground mobile radar units at key locations, NORAD also has a new data link that provides a real time radar picture of what FAA controllers are looking at. "It provides a big picture of more than 4,000 planes," Thomas said. "If the FAA says they think there's a problem with a particular plane, we can punch in the numbers and pull up the data on that specific flight."