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CSAF: NATO is key to homeland defense effort

02/01/02 - WASHINGTON -- As U.S. Air Force planes fly combat sorties over Afghanistan, the chief of staff of the Air Force looked homeward conveying his gratitude to NATO forces supporting homeland security with around-the-clock airborne warning and control aircraft missions.

"I want to express my sincere thanks to those NATO allies, some 13 of them, who are participating in the deployment of the NATO AWACS into the United States to help us in our air patrols," said Gen. John P. Jumper, who spoke to a group of reporters at the Foreign Press Center in Washington on Jan. 31.

Five NATO AWACS aircraft and more than 200 people from 13 nations deployed to Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., in the weeks and months following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. To date, these allied forces have flown more than 200 sorties and over 2,200 hours flying hours across the United States to support the command and control of about 250 airplanes patrolling the country's airspace.

The presence of those people and aircraft provides a critical boost to Air Force resources, Jumper said.

"It relieves a great pressure we have on our AWACS aircraft deployed worldwide to answer numerous commitments," Jumper said. "The U.S. Air Force and the people of the United States are grateful for this commitment."

Specifically mentioning the responsiveness of NATO allies, Jumper said, they were on board with the campaign against terrorism from the beginning.

"I think about two days after we began bombing in Afghanistan, the deployment was on its way over here and we were able to relieve great stress on the aircraft flying patrols in various places over the United States," he said.

The NATO AWACS contingent is part of a larger effort which includes about 11,000 people and 250 aircraft from across the United States.

"We put the aircraft (on patrol) right after the terrorist attacks. to prevent the same thing from happening again," Jumper said. "Our intent, of course, is to be able to identify all aircraft that are in the skies over the United States. Every day, we have flown intercepts against airplanes that show up on the radar that are not otherwise identified."

All of the intercepts to date have turned out to be small privately owned aircraft that have made a mistake in a flight plan or have not identified themselves properly, Jumper said.

"When asked to land, they land immediately and the issue is straightened out right away," he said. "Obviously, we pay close attention to each one of these (intercepts), and that's why we've continued these patrols. And they will continue."

The coordination and cooperation of U.S. and NATO forces has been one of the real success stories of the war against terrorism, he said.

"There's much to be proud of," he said. "We are absolutely grateful and delighted for the participation of our NATO allies as they help us fly defensive (combat air patrols) over the United States, and the performance of the coalition as we have tracked down and neutralized the influence of the Taliban and al-Qaeda inside of Afghanistan."