19 October 2001

History Made as NATO Aids in U.S. Defense

The following is from Air Force Link (www.af.mil/news):

History Made As Nato Aids In U.S. Defense

By Capt. Steven Rolenc
552nd Air Control Wing Public Affairs

Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. (AFPN) -- Never in the 52-year history of NATO has the alliance been used to defend the United States, but that has changed recently.

NATO began deploying five of its E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control systems aircraft and a detachment of more than 180 people here from Geilenkirchen, Germany, on Oct. 9. They will help the 552nd Air Control Wing with Operation Noble Eagle, the defense of the United States.

The NATO detachment began flying operational missions Oct. 15 after going through ground training and familiarization flights.

Since the terrorist attacks Sept. 11, the 552nd ACW has been continuously patrolling the skies of America with its E-3s, providing radar coverage in support of the North American Aerospace Defense Command's air-sovereignty mission.

U.S. officials asked the alliance to deploy the aircraft to improve NORAD's ability to provide combat-air-patrol missions while lowering the operational tempo for the U.S. E-3 fleet.

This action is one of eight measures taken by NATO in its first execution of Article 5 of the treaty that created it. The article states that an attack on one member is an attack on all.

"Right now, (the 552nd is) engaged in four theaters of operation," said Brig. Gen. Ben Robinson, 552nd ACW commander.

The wing, which has 28 AWACS, has aircraft and people deployed in support of operations Enduring Freedom, Southern Watch and Northern Watch besides its homeland-defense missions. The wing also operates the training for the entire Air Force AWACS fleet.

NATO has "reduced the risk and reduced the cost on our training," Robinson said. "This gives us the capability to run our schoolhouse, train our young people and sustain Noble Eagle in the context of a marathon."

"NATO has been seamlessly integrated into the mission with the 552nd," said Canadian Forces Col. Jim McNaughton, NATO detachment commander.

Working together is nothing new for the 552nd and NATO AWACS. The units train together regularly in various exercises worldwide. The most recent operational successes of this partnership were seen in Operation Allied Force, the 1999 air campaign in Yugoslavia.

"It's no longer 'we,' 'they' or 'a NATO force,'" McNaughton said. "We are one group here."

"We are probably the closest two military units in the world," Robinson said. "If we could have planned for three months, we wouldn't have pulled this off any better."

"We've taken these planes to a lot of places, but the reception here has been incredible," McNaughton said.

People from 13 nations make up the NATO detachment: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. (Courtesy of Air Combat Command News Service)

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