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FAA Officials Visit Air Forces Northern

  • Published
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla --  A group of senior-level Federal Aviation Administration officials based in Washington D.C., visited Air Forces Northern Feb. 12. 

          The visit focused on enhancing an integrated understanding of each others' current roles in maintaining air sovereignty. 

          During their visit, the officials received an F-22 Raptor familiarization briefing, toured the 601st Air and Space Operations Center and viewed a live-fly exercise from the operations floor there. 

          Hank Krakowski, FAA Chief Operating Officer, said while it's not the first time a group of FAA officials visited AFNORTH's facilities, it's the first time this senior level of key executives did. 

          "The purpose of this trip was to allow the tactical and operational personnel at FAA who manage airplanes and airspace to better understand how we would work together in the event of a threat to our airspace," Mr. Krakowski said. "This visit reinforced a common understanding of what we do so we have a better feeling for what is happening at Tyndall and across AFNORTH's system." 

          Additionally, the group learned about some protocols and methodologies they plan to analyze for their viability and use in the FAA realm. 

          "There were some tools used to enhance situational awareness during the event demonstration we found very intriguing -- ones we could potentially use to work even better together," Mr. Krakowski said. 

          According to David VanBlaricom, Chief, Airspace Management Team, 601st AOC, working with FAA officials occurs daily to ensure mutual benefits for each agency concerned. 

          "It's a complex relationship, which includes interaction with other federal and state agencies as necessary," he said. "We have to constantly balance our military mission requirements with the FAA's assigned requirements to execute the safe and efficient use of the national airspace system." 

          The FAA's authority to manage this airspace is mandated by Title 49 of the United States Code. Mr. VanBlaricom said given this statutory responsibility, military air operations are designed to coexist with civilian operations with as little impact on the national airspace system as possible. 

          To achieve this, he said all airspace-related activities are characterized by carefully orchestrated mutual coordination and cooperation, with an emphasis on deconfliction, depending on each organization's needs. 

          "This visit was beneficial for all involved" said Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Lofgren, 1st Air Force vice commander. "It allowed all of us to look at our processes and procedures first hand and exchange feedback immediately." 

          Brig. Gen. Robert Tarter, the mobilization assistant to the commander, AFNORTH, and vice president, office of Safety, FAA Air Traffic Organization, said the group was impressed with AFNORTH and what they saw. 

          "Everyone in the FAA was very pleased with the visit," he said. "We were able to coordinate on several issues important to both groups which included discussions about airspace procedures, national security policy and air defense command and control." 

          Mr. Krakowski agreed. 

          "The professionalism of everyone was impeccable -- they were very organized, calm and made good decisions at critical junctures. My confidence in the procedures while handling hostile aircraft has gone up exponentially after what I've seen."