Dean reflects on command as he prepares to hand over reins of 1st AF

  • Published
  • By Angela Pope
  • AFNORTH Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  "We will be called upon again, and we must be ready at a moment's notice to provide the necessary air power. We cannot fail, and we will not fail, in this enduring Air Force mission."

When Maj. Gen. Garry C. Dean spoke these words as he took command of the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region-1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern) Nov. 12, 2009, he knew the magnitude of responsibility placed before him.

CONR has indeed successfully executed its mission of protecting the skies over America. Since Dean took the reins, the command has responded to more than 2,900 tracks of interest and exercised command and control of more than 5,000 sorties in support of Operation Noble Eagle - the command's response to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 - including flights over several space shuttle launches, the Super Bowl, the Vancouver Winter Olympics, State of the Union Addresses and meetings of the U.N. General Assembly.

"The homeland is a very interesting place. What we provide the American people as the air component is speed, range and flexibility," Dean said. "The effects we provide are unencumbered by terrain, medium, time or distance. It has been amazing to watch this command apply those tools to this area of responsibility."

But it was what happened outside AFNORTH's AOR that largely defined Dean's command.

A devastating earthquake, a massive oil spill and a destructive tsunami tested AFNORTH's flexibility.

The island nation of Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake Jan. 12, 2010, exactly two months after Dean took command.

"We knew we had the tools in our toolkit here to help U.S. Southern Command and Air Forces Southern, so we quickly established a bridge with them," Dean said. "AFNORTH offered up its capabilities, and we were able to establish operations right here at Tyndall."

The 601st Air Mobility Division, part of the 601st Air and Space Operations Center, temporarily transformed their Regional Air Movement Control Center into the Haiti Flight Operations Coordination Center after the quake virtually rendered the Port-au-Prince International Airport inoperable.

The HFOCC's primary 'charter' was to coordinate all U.S. military, commercial, government and non-government aircraft that flowed in and out of the airport, assigning 'slot times' to maximize the efficiency of ramp operations for all incoming and outgoing flights.

In two months of operation, the HFOCC processed nearly 6,000 slot time requests, coordinated the air movement of 18,000 short tons of cargo, evacuated more than 29,000 passengers and transformed an airport accustomed to channeling a mere 20 flights per day into an operation accepting nearly 180 flights per day.

The success of the HFOCC garnered the team the coveted Air Force Chief of Staff Team Excellence Award.

"Words cannot express the deep pride I have for the extraordinary men and women who rightfully deserved this accolade from our senior Air Force leader," Dean said.

Five months into Dean's command, the largest environmental disaster in the United States saw its beginning when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico April 20, 2010. Initially, AFNORTH provided units to help disperse the spill and mitigate its impacts as the oil made its way toward the shoreline.

Under the command of the Joint Forces Air Component Commander, the 910th Airlift Wing, a U.S. Air Force Reserve unit based in Youngstown, Ohio, deployed two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and aircrew to Stennis International Airport, Miss., equipped with the Modular Aerial Spray System, to assist with containment efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.

AFNORTH also provided emergency preparedness liaison officers to support the federal on-scene coordinator to assist civil authorities with available military assets, including logistics, medical, security forces and public affairs.

In July, senior Department of Defense and Homeland Security officials made the decision to centralize airspace management operations in the 601st AOC due to the organization's 'inherent and unique skill set' when dealing with airspace deconfliction and ability to respond to natural and man-made disasters. The Joint Aviation Coordination Command was created to alleviate the burden the U.S. Coast Guard was undertaking.

The JACC was in operation at Tyndall Air Force Base until September 2010.

The 601st AOC's Intelligence and Reconnaissance Division also provided satellite imagery to help locate surface slicks, recover spewing oil and minimize environmental impacts. The collected imagery was passed to the command and control elements at the Incident Command Posts in New Orleans, Mobile, Ala., and Miami, which then assigned spotters and skimmers to the affected areas.

"Through this unprecedented disaster, we delivered AFNORTH excellence across a very big region of the nation," Dean said. "That was a very proud event for this command."

Another earthquake was responsible for AFNORTH's next major international engagement.

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan March 11, 2011, and triggered a massive tsunami that caused widespread death and destruction. The U.S. quickly started making preparations to evacuate American military dependents out of the country because of the instability of several nuclear power plants in the area.

AFNORTH immediately jumped into action, deploying EPLOs to airports in the Western U.S. where the dependents would be arriving. Additional AFNORTH also staff deployed to the airports, assisting the Department of Defense in the return effort. The 601st AMD provided airspace control support to Pacific Air Forces and Pacific Command.

"I'm so proud of this command for taking AFNORTH's capabilities global," Dean said. "We have shown that this command is ready to serve beyond the homeland."

All of these successes would not have been possible if not for AFNORTH's Total Force team and its solid relationships with its interservice, interagency and international partners.

"We have great civilians on our team who bring a rich diversity of experience to our mission and look at things from a different sight picture," Dean said. "Our Title 32 Florida Guard Airmen give us a diverse background when working with the states. Our Title 10 active duty Airmen bring a great perspective because they've been at multiple assignments. Our relationship with our external partners is great because of our wonderful liaisons."

That same team is what enjoyed the most while he was here and is going to miss the most after he leaves AFNORTH.

"I'm proud to have commanded an organization where our people know how important their job is and they do that job despite the challenges, the deployment time and the long days and nights," Dean said. "No matter the challenge, the great Airmen and civilians of CONR, 1st Air Force, Air Forces Northern, the Sectors and our Aerospace Control Alert sites always got it done, and they always focused on excellence. I got to reap the benefits of that as commander being out front."

Dean also credits the local community with helping AFNORTH through its successes.

"There are some wonderful Americans here in the Bay County area. There are some great communities out there, but I'll tell you, I don't think there is any one that's better than the Tyndall and Bay County community," he said. "To all of those great, wonderful Americans, my hat is off to you."

Even though he won't be the AFNORTH commander for much longer, Dean is confident the men and women of the command will continue to protect their homeland steadfastly and successfully.

"Wherever I go, I will sleep well knowing the AFNORTH team is defending our skies," he said.