[Scan-DC] Fw: AFNORTH PRESS RELEASE: Blue Flag enhances AF¡¯s ability to protect U.S. from attacks

[Alan Henney]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "AFNORTH PA OMB"
Sent: Friday, April 24, 2009 5:19 PM
Subject: AFNORTH PRESS RELEASE: Blue Flag enhances AF¡¯s ability to
protect U.S. from attacks


CONR - 1 AF/AFNORTH
Continental United States NORAD Region ¨C First Air Force (Air Forces
Northern)
Office of Public Affairs
1210 Beacon Beach Road * Tyndall AFB FL 32403-5549

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Release 09-04-24/002
April 24,
2009


Blue Flag enhances AF¡¯s ability to protect U.S. from attacks

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. ¨C  More than 500 Air Force personnel,
along
with representatives from the Army, Navy and Marines completed a
two-week
training exercise last week expected to improve how the Air Force will
better monitor and intercept hostile military aircraft and respond to
potential terrorist attacks.

Part of a series of military defense training exercises referred to as
Blue
Flag, the event was held at the 601st Air and Space Operations Center
at
Continental U.S. NORAD Region ¨C 1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern)
headquarters at Tyndall.

Participating in the exercise were personnel from 1st Air Force,
including
the Eastern and Western Air Defense Sectors, located respectively in
Rome,
N.Y., and McChord AFB, Wash. And for the first time, the joint
exercise was
evaluated by the 505th Combat and Control Wing at Hurlburt Field,
Fla., who
served as the White Cell -- the exercise proctors acting as 1st Air
Force¡¯s
simulated higher headquarters.

Dennis Moses, lead planner for Blue Flag, said the exercise was
conducted to
help 1st Air Force better perform its Air Defense Mission Contingency
Plan,
an official strategy that has been devised for various hostile air and
ground situations that would require intervention by the Air Force.

¡°First Air Force was involved in a similar exercise two years ago in
conjunction with the North American Aerospace Defense Command in
Colorado,
but this is the first time we¡¯ve conducted a Blue Flag exercise
solely on
our own,¡± Mr. Moses said.

For the purposes of the exercise two simulated scenarios were
designed, one
in which potentially hostile military aircraft were spotted flying
along the
east and west coasts of the U.S., and another in which terrorist
groups
planned to attack a high level international summit  in California.

The scenarios were based on real-world situations that have occurred
in the
U.S. in the past or that are possible in the future. In one, Air Force
fighters¨DF-15s and F-16s¨Dwere used to monitor and intercept military
aircraft flying along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

He explained that in deciding what scenarios to use, Russian planes
flying
along the U.S. coasts actually occurred frequently during the Cold
War, and
there has been a resurgence of that activity in recent years. ¡°Our
job is
to make sure that aircraft entering the U.S. air defense
identification
zone, which is 200 miles from shore, are appropriately identified and
monitored,¡± Mr. Moses said.

¡°This exercise was our first significant opportunity in the last five
or
six years to practice these particular scenarios,¡± said he. ¡°We¡¯ve
learned already that the 505th is going to take what it learned from
in the
exercise to make changes to its core curriculum at the Air Operations
Center
Field Training Unit course they teach. That is testament to the high
level
of experience that resides within 1st Air Force personnel.¡±

The training exercise brought together 1st AF with the Navy Fleet
Forces
Command in Norfolk, Va., the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing from New Orleans
and
Air Force Space Command in Colorado Springs.  ¡°It was especially good
for
1st AF and the other services to integrate our training to see how we
would
interact in these situations,¡± Mr. Moses said. ¡°We received positive
feedback from everyone involved and felt we met our overall
objectives.¡±

Canadian Brig. Gen. Andr¨¦ Viens, CONR deputy commander, said the
exercise
provided an excellent joint training opportunity.

¡°Blue Flag allows us to work together with several agencies in a
training
environment to focus on aerospace and maritime warning and control in
order
to maintain air sovereignty of the skies over North America against
any air
threat or potential adversary,¡± General Viens said. ¡°The exercise is
designed to train the participants to work through an integrated air
campaign and react to hostile real-time events in a dynamic
environment.¡±

In addition to having members of the 505th Combat and Control Wing act
as
higher headquarters personnel, CONR invited three retired general
officers
to serve as mentors throughout the exercise. For Blue Flag, Lt. Gen.
Robert
¡°Rod¡± Bishop Jr., Lt. Gen. Eugene Santarelli and Lt. Gen. Glen
¡°Wally¡±
Moorhead III volunteered their time and skills to the CONR event.

Commenting on the participation of the three retired officers, Brig.
Gen.
Jeffrey G. Lofgren, 1st Air Force vice commander, said the insight and
experience our senior mentors bring to this exercise are invaluable.

¡°Their role as advisors bring a wealth of perspective and help us
achieve a
greater understanding of the exercise scenario,¡± he said. ¡°To some
exercise participants, it may seem that they are quietly sitting on
the
sidelines, when in fact often times they may be leading our Airmen in
the
right direction by saying, ¡®You might want to choose a different
course of
action.¡¯ We¡¯re fortunate to have these seasoned warriors supporting
our
mission and giving their feedback.¡±

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CONR - 1 AF/AFNORTH
Continental United States NORAD Region - First Air Force (Air Forces
Northern)
Office of Public Affairs
1210 Beacon Beach Road * Tyndall AFB FL 32403-5549
(850) 283-8659 * FAX (850) 283-3376 * DSN 523-8659
afnorthpa at tyndall.af.mil  *   www.1af.acc.af.mil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Release 09-04-24/001
April 24,
2009


CONR tracks aircraft over Washington D.C.

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Two Air Force F-16s and two U.S. Coast
Guard
HH-65s were scrambled today to respond to a small civilian aircraft
that
veered into the Air Defense Identification Zone over the National
Capital
Region in Washington, D.C.

The F-16s made initial visual contact with the Piper Cub aircraft, and
then
passed responsibility to the HH-65s upon their arrival in the
airspace.  The
Coast Guard helicopters escorted the small craft to Indian Head
Airport,
Md., approximately 15 miles from the NCR.  Upon landing, local law
enforcement was on the scene to meet the pilot for questioning.

"Our mission is defense of the homeland, and today was a textbook
example of
how the men and women of CONR are poised and ready to respond when
called,"
said Col. Dave Kriner, 601st AOC commander.  "The National Capital
Region
tends to bring greater attention to temporary flight restrictions, but
our
air sovereignty alert sites throughout the United States are on
standby 24
hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure our airspace is safe and secure."

The 601st AOC is a subordinate unit of the Continental U.S. NORAD
Region -
1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern), and provides aerospace warning
and
control for NORAD and U.S. Northern Command.  The AOC is also is
responsible
for the detection, deterrence, defense and defeat of aviation threats
to the
United States and its critical infrastructure.

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