TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Air Forces Northern (AFNORTH) continues to provide federal interagency support to areas affected by Hurricane Dorian.
“Our thoughts and concerns are with everyone affected by this powerful hurricane. AFNORTH is postured, along with our sister services and partner agencies, to assist state and local governments when asked.” said Lt. Gen. Marc Sasseville, AFNORTH Commander.
“Planning efforts prior to and during landfall have enabled our organization to preposition both people and equipment in strategic locations during post hurricane landfall operations.”
“While we remain ultimately committed to our primary mission of Homeland Defense, a subset of that mission is Defense Support to Civil Authorities. We must ensure we do all we can to use our unique aerial capabilities to help mitigate suffering of affected populations,” said Sasseville.
The people involved in these operations include emergency preparation liaison officers, search and rescue personnel, mobility specialists and medical personnel to name a handful. AFNORTH efforts leverage both aerial assets and geographical locations, to include military bases, as staging areas for post hurricane response materials.
During contingency operations like Hurricane Dorian, as U.S. Northern Command’s air component, AFNORTH’s role is to provide air support to assist with saving lives, relieve suffering and assess property damage. These operations are coordinated and conducted with a wide array of interagency partners, to include FEMA, and within the DoD.