While the remnants of Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Hanna soaked the Gulf and East coasts this week emergency response forces, assigned to Air Forces Northern here, remain poised to react as Hurricane Ike inches its way toward the Florida Keys and possibly the Gulf of Mexico. AFNORTH and additional military personnel, aircraft and equipment previously moved to forward staging points across the southeastern United States, remain on around-the-clock alert as they monitor the path and intensity of Ike as it makes its way east towards the continental United States.
“Having our forces prepositioned is the right thing to do,” said Col. David Kriner, 601st Air and Space Operations Center commander, as he highlighted preparations taken days before Hurricane Gustav made landfall last week. “It’s better to have a little too many people and assets prepositioned and ready to respond immediately after the storm passes versus not having enough,” he added.
A ‘home’ for military subject matter experts on air mobility, satellite operations, imagery collection and search and rescue, the 601st AOC - commonly known as “America’s AOC” - continues to review damage caused by Gustav and Hanna while keeping an eye on inbound storms. A large-screen monitor in its Current Operations Center displays live video shot by manned and unmanned observation aircraft over the affected areas to give military and civil response agencies an immediate look at areas hardest hit by the storm.
According to Colonel Kriner, lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 drove the need for beefing up the operations center. In the days before Hurricane Gustav, the center brought in roughly 60 additional subject matter experts, ready to immediately respond to significant events before and after a major storm.
“When a hurricane approaches, time is against us,” Colonel Kriner said.
Among the people moved to various staging areas for these major storms include members of AFNORTH’s Air Component Coordination Element, or ACCE. During natural disasters or other contingencies, these people serve in a command and control function to coordinate the movement of needed Air Force assets into stricken regions, support state and federal evacuation, humanitarian relief and search and rescue missions.
To brace for Tropical Storm Hanna’s sweep across the East Coast, AFNORTH moved a 12-person ACCE team to Louisiana, with other teams already in position before Gustav hit Louisiana.
“We had an ACCE deployed with Army North ‘s operational command post in Alexandria, La.,” said Col. John Colombo, director of AFNORTH air, space and information operations, as he outlined plans for Tropical Storm Hanna. “The ACCE is the [Army] command post’s immediate tie in to the capabilities that reside here at Tyndall AFB. They are able to reach back here to the staff where we help meet the requirements real time [to] provide them the best support for national, state and local responders to offer to the citizens affected by these storms.”
“What we did here during Gustav has set the stage for Hannah, Ike and the next storms down the line,” Colonel Colombo said. AFNORTH personnel opened lines of communication with their military and civilian emergency response counterparts as its people move into a familiar “battle rhythm” to maintain continuous operations over the next couple of weeks, he added.
In addition to immediate command and control support on the ground, AFNORTH deployed dozens of Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officers, or EPLOs, to prepare for the next storms. These teams of Reservists respond to requests from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help local and state emergency relief agencies needing immediate military assistance.
In the case of Gustav, 40 of these senior officers used their expertise in military airlift, logistics and medical and security operations to help state and federal agencies in Louisiana evacuate more than 7,000 civilians, including about 700 critically ill patients, before it made landfall Sept. 1.
“In only 24 hours after Gustav hit ... there was no need for search and rescue,” said Col. Michael Hare, AFNORTH National Security Emergency Preparedness director, who oversees 75 EPLOs . “The reason is because we got [people] out of town. It was a total team effort. Everything that needed to happen did happen. We were ready to conduct day and night operations in nearly all weather [conditions], but thankfully it was not needed this time.”
With Hurricane Ike closing in on the United States, EPLOs and other AFNORTH elements remain on the move to position themselves to act should the storm strengthen and provide a more potent punch.
“When we put on this uniform and come to work, we bring with us the credibility and responsibility associated with the Air Force,” Colonel Hare said.