AFSPC Airmen support recovery efforts

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Thibault
  • Air Force Space Command Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFPN) --  The magnitude of devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina may take months to realize. But help is needed fast, and Air Force Space Command is responding quickly.

Examples of this expeditious effort lie with some of the command’s deployed officers.

Col. Jay Santee, 21st Space Wing vice commander, Maj. Paul Ohla and Capt. Jeff Owens, both from AFSPC headquarters here, were notified of a possible deployment less than 24 hours before they set foot on southeastern United States soil.

“I was notified around 3 or 4 p.m. (Sept. 3), and I was inprocessing at 1 p.m. (Sept. 4),” said Colonel Santee, who is the director of space forces.

Captain Owens and Major Ohla both arrived at 1st Air Force at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., about 20 hours after they volunteered to go. First Air Force established the 1st Aerospace Expeditionary Task Force-Katrina Operation.

“I don’t think you can ask for a quicker military response than that,” the colonel said.

Once on the ground the officers began working space integration activities and developing joint air and space operations plans for Joint Task Force-Katrina.

“They have also been tracking down the status of different space capabilities to ensure the systems are at the right location to serve the greatest number of Department of Defense and civilian response personnel,” Colonel Santee said.

As the director of space forces, Colonel Santee is the principle adviser to the joint functional air component commander on integrating space into the relief efforts. Those relief efforts are relying on the command’s most trusted satellite system.

“The navigation and timing signal of the Global Positioning System is always used and expected to be there in situations such as this,” Colonel Santee said.

There are other space-based capabilities that have been tailored for this operation as well. The Global Broadcast Service and the Spectral Operations Resource Center Team are among them.

GBS is a one-way, space-based, high-capacity broadcast communication system that is providing information to Northern Command headquarters, Joint Task Force-Katrina and the Combined Air and Space Operations Center at Tyndall.

The Army’s Spectral Operations Resource Center is exploiting commercial imagery to prepare high-resolution images to civilian and military responders to permit a better understanding of the devastated terrain.

“This is really a joint space operation,” the colonel said.

People with the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., are on call providing reach-back capability and research to the Colonel Santee. The center is responsible for controlling all joint-space assets. They coordinate and deliver joint space effects, and if necessary, they will administer taskings to support the relief efforts.

The deployed officers are in the initial stages of supporting the relief efforts in the southeastern states. They know there is likely a long road ahead of them, but they said they are happy to be there.

“I’m glad I am here to do my part,” Captain Owens said. “It’s a good feeling to know we are here to do what we can.”

“I’m saddened that our nation is going through this tragedy of epic proportions, but I’m proud to be a part of the team whose heroic efforts will help get our nation back on its feet,” Colonel Santee said.

Additionally, the command has deployed six helicopters and crews with associated maintenance and support personnel to Columbus AFB, Miss., in support of Joint Task Force-Katrina. This is the first time AFSPC officials have taken their helicopters outside of their normal area of operations where they provide security for the intercontinental ballistic missile fields. (Courtesy of AFSPC News Service)