The Air Forces Northern National Security Emergency Preparedness Directorate (AFNSEP or NSEP), of the First Air Force (1AF or AFNORTH) operates out of its Northern Headquarters at

Tyndall Air Force Base Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (325 ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, effective 1 January 2008. NSEP facilitates and coordinates USAF Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) for natural and man-made disasters and or emergencies. The Directorate advises and consults with Office of the Secretary of Defense,

Unified Combatant Command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...

, Joint Staff Director of Military Support (JDOMS), and all levels of civil and military authorities on DSCA issues. Provides Air Force with specific leadership for critical

situational awareness Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status. An alternative definition is tha ...

between the commands and the field.

Mission

AFNSEP in close collaboration with interagency and allied partners, anticipates and when directed conducts

Homeland Defense Homeland defense (HD) is the protection of a territory, sovereignty, domestic population, and critical infrastructure against external threats and aggression. (Definition will be incorporated into JP 3-26Definition deferred to ''Homeland Defense, J ...

and Civil Support operations to defend, protect, and secure the United States and its interests. For 2011, AFNORTH and AFNSEP focus is on air sovereignty alert mission and

Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

, the command's response to the 9/11 attacks, which aim to protect the country from another aerial attack.

History

AFNSEP was originally began as ''Air Force National Security Emergency Preparedness Agency'', but changed its name when it was deactivated as an Air Staff Field Operating Agency to Air Forces Northern National Security Emergency Preparedness Directorate. This realignment occurred under the

United States Northern Command United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for non-military authorities in the U.S., and protect ...

, 1 October 2006. The first commander of AF Northern HQ was Maj. Gen. Henry C. Morrow, AFNORTH Commander, until November, 2009.

2007 California fires

While USAF local airmen were helping in the battle of deadly blazes consuming hundreds of acres of Southern California, AFNSEP/AFNORTH sent an Air Component Coordination Element, or ACCE, to the region to support firefighting operations. AFNSEP's eight-person ACCE team coordinated all Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units helping with firefighting efforts. AFNSEP also dispatched six C-130 Hercules aircraft which dumped over 3,000 gallons of fire retardant on blazes, to help with the firefighting effort. (Reported by Maj. Gen. Hank Morrow, AFNORTH Cmdr.)

Background

The AFNSEP program was originally developed due to President Ronald Reagan's 1988 Executive Order 12656. This order identified a need to expand the military's role beyond defense to responding to national

emergencies An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

and supporting civilian needs in natural

disasters A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...

. Since their formation, AFNSEP has supported more than 125 major disasters, including the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, several

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

wildfires, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, several

hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

to include Andrew and Katrina, and

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

relief across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

region. After Hurricane Katrina, AFNSEP was re-aligned to, according to an order issued by the

Secretary of the Air Force A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

, more closely support

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

authorities during times of national emergencies and disasters by allowing more contiguous command, control and support from US Air Force forces.

Operations

The role of AFNSEP is to train and deploy

Emergency Preparedness Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

Liaison Officers (EPLO). EPLOs are normally senior Air Force Reserve Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) officers, who coordinate military assistance to federal agencies and state government when homeland support is requested.

NASA support

AFNORTH provided the manpower for U.S. Northern Command's Joint Task Force-Space Transportation System, responsible for the search and rescue of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

astronauts and recovery of or crisis response of the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...

References

1AF (AFNORTH) National Security Emergency Preparedness (NSEP) Directorate

External links

AFMORTH Flight Plan 2012

FAS.org: ''Air Force Doctrine Document 2-10'', 21 March 2006
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Military units and formations established in 2006 Disaster preparedness in the United States Bay County, Florida

Tyndall AFB Tyndall Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located east of Panama City, Florida. The base was named in honor of World War I pilot 1st Lt. Frank Benjamin Tyndall. The base operating unit and host wing is the 325th Fighter Wing (325 ...