Base unit watches U.S. skies

The kept an eye on Santa as he traveled across Idaho on Christmas eve.

More importantly, they kept an eye on every plane in the air from southern Washington to Northern Utah, as part of Operation Noble Eagle, the effort to ensure the safety of America's skies.

The members of the little-heralded 726th Air Control Squadron at Mountain Home AFB have been pressed into service, operating 24/7 for the past 100 days, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, to make sure no aircraft in the country deviates from its flight plan.

It was one of the first units in the country set up to monitor domestic air traffic after the attacks. Any aircraft that operates suspiciously triggers an alert to higher headquarters, in this case the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).

In a worst-case scenario they would vector USAF aircraft, probably the 366th Wing's 390th Fighter Squadron, to investigate and possibly shoot down the plane.

It is serious work for the unit, composed of some of the youngest airmen on base, but it is what they're trained for.

"We're a combat unit," said Lt. Col. Kathy Stoddard, the commander of the unit known by its call sign, "Hardrock." "We usually deploy into a battle theater and our team provides radar coverage of enemy territory. Guarding America through Operation Noble Eagle is something we never expected we would have to do."

"We're extremely proud of what we're accomplishing," said Stoddard.

"Many of the people here have only one-and-a-half years in the military, but they're fully trained. I'm very proud of how they've pulled through as a team.

"We've been working extremely hard for over 100 days in defense of our country -- in garrison."

Normally, the unit, which handles battlefield management in the skies, supports the training efforts of the 366th Wing, tracking aircraft with its powerful AN/TPS-75 radar, that is the heart of its operations.

The radar has an unclassified range of about 240 miles of radius and can detect objects more than 95,000 feet above the ground.

In the darkened confines of a crowded eight-feet-wide by 20-feet-long box called an Operations Module, "Hardrock" teams consisting of four operators conduct searches, track targets, view and share weather information, link data and communications to various agencies, and stand ready to provide electronic counter measures and jamming. The young men and women who monitor the skies for threats sit before green monitor screens watching everything in the air larger than a bird. A quick touch to the screen and detailed information about the aircraft in question is quickly displayed.

Providing the same sort of surveillance and command control as the more famous AWACS aircraft, the self-contained 200-person unit is often deployed around the world. The "rapidly deployable" unit has everything it needs, from trucks to carry its equipment to its own security forces, to move independently anywhere in the world and be ready to monitor the skies and direct aircraft to whatever threat is found on their radar screens.

With the motto "Prepared to go" on their squadron patch, the 726h Air Control Squadron is trained to deploy into forward battle areas and be as self sufficient as possible. Though air defense is their primary mission, "Hardrockers" also provide their own support in a bare-base environment including ground transportation, force protection, medical aid, maintenance, electricity, communications, radar coverage, shelters and tents, field showers and meals.

With the motto "Prepared to go" on their squadron patch, the 726h Air Control Squadron is trained to deploy into forward battle areas and be as self sufficient as possible. Though air defense is their primary mission,

"It is a total team effort from maintaining the equipment to operating and protecting the resources," said Stoddard. "Because we have outstanding airmen repairing and taking care of our equipment, we're able to maximize the unit's command and control capabilities. I'm very proud of the 'Hardrock' Team's contributions to the defense of our great country."

"We walked into work on Sept. 11 thinking it would be a normal day," said the unit's operations officer, Maj. Marty Balus. "But we were quickly up and running 24/7 and have been for 100 days and counting. Right now, we're supporting NORAD . "NORAD's mission prior to Sept. 11 was to track and monitor all aircraft entering the United States and the Canadian borders," said Stoddard. "Everything was designed to look for bombers and missiles approaching our coastlines, not inside them.

"That's why my team is needed. We watch the inside of the country and look for any aircraft that doesn't look, sound or act normal." Most of her people are at MHAFB. Some have been deployed to other areas in the region to run radar systems that don't normally operate 24/7.

NORAD decides if the 726th Air Control Squadron controllers should direct an intercept of a potentially hostile aircraft. NORAD is responsible for more than 100 aircraft that are assigned to protect Alaska, Canada and the United States. U.S. and NATO Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft make regular patrols over NORAD's airspace as well as random Combat Air Patrols by fighter aircraft, such as the wing's 390th FS. However, most of the fighters stay ready on the ground in 15-mmute alert status -- ready to be airborne in less than 15 minutes if called upon.

"All U.S. military operations require control of air, space and information," said Stoddard. "We find, fix, assess, track, target and engage everything of military significance. Our contribution to aerospace power is vital to our forces' effectiveness and our ability to fight and win with minimum loss of life -- and that's anywhere in the world, including over the skies of the United States."

The 726th Air Control Squadron was first stationed at Pope AFB, N.C. in September 1950. The unit has been located at Shaw AFB, S.C., and Homestead AFB, Fla. before becoming assigned as part ofthe 366th Wing at Mountain Home AF13 in March 1996.

The squadron has had an outstanding combat record, forged under fire during the most important engagements of recent years, including: Operation Desert Storm, Operation Southern Watch in Kuwait, Operation Allied Force in Kosovo and now Operation Noble Eagle. They are scheduled for a deployment to Kuwait in 2002.

As part of the new force structure plan proposed by the Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James Roche, the 726th Air Control Squadron will grow. Though it is still very early in the planning process, the Air Force is examining how to make that growth happen and is working closely with Idaho's congressional delegation.

"The proposed growth of the squadron is a very complex task that involves units across the Air Force, the defense budget process, much time and planning," a base spokesperson said.