Posted on 10/24/2001 7:00:44 PM PDT by Ligeia
NORFOLK -- Maj. Gen. Johann-G. Dora, a 53-year-old German fighter-bomber pilot, joined the Luftwaffe in 1967 and helped NATO and American forces protect Europe from Soviet aggression.
Today, international crews under his control are flying anti-terrorism patrols over the full breadth of America.
Dora, in Norfolk this week to meet with NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic and the U.S. Joint Forces Command, heads the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Airborne Early Warning and Control Force of 17 aircraft.
He sent five of the NATO early warning planes to the United States soon after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Northern Virginia.
It's a mission he never thought he'd see.
``It's unusual for sure,'' said the two-star general.
The five E-3A NATO aircraft, plus a sixth support aircraft that Dora and his staff flew to Oklahoma City on Tuesday, are from Geilenkirchen, Germany.
They include a unique international crew.
The countries contributing personnel are Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Greece, the United Kingdon, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey and the United States.
At any time, the cockpit can include crew members from four different nations.
``At the very beginning, people looked at us and said we might not achieve very much,'' he said.
``They said we won't perform like a national crew would. But after a few years we found this force is an example of a truly international unit that works.
``They don't want (it said) one nation is not doing as well as another, so they all do better. It's a real success story and one of the reasons why U.S. authorities have worked with us.''
English is the language spoken by the four-member flight crew and the 15 systems operators during the flights, which can last more than 10 hours.
The aircraft are designed to ``look for everything,'' Dora said, ``especially for low-flying aircraft, fast and slow'' that are not normally picked up on commercial radar, or even ground-based military radar.
They also can track ship movements.
In this particular mission, the NATO planes transfer information they receive to officials of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, for assessment.
Dora, who is a current E-3A pilot, said he may fly some of the sorties while in Oklahoma this week. It isn't his first visit.
The NATO crews have been to Tinker Air Force Base, where the United States keeps 28 of its AWACS planes, several times for exercises and training.
``We know the surroundings very well,'' he said. ``Oklahoma City is a nice town, the people are especially very warm hearted and friendly.
``My crews report to me they are really welcomed, although the people of Oklahoma, when they see all the Germans here, are not used to that.
``But once we say we're NATO, they offer to buy us a beer, even dinner. That is strange. We never had an experience like that in Europe.''
The United States requested the NATO help to protect the airways from potential terrorists who might try again to turn commercial airliners into suicide missiles.
The mission is called Eagle Assist, following the overall homeland defense operation called Noble Eagle.
The NATO assistance allowed U.S. AWACS aircraft to be deployed elsewhere. The assist also helped lower the operational tempo of the U.S. planes, which are in high demand.
``I am delighted that we can do it,'' Adm. Sir James Perowne said of the NATO deployment, the first time the alliance has been asked to protect American soil.
After the terrorist attacks, NATO invoked Article 5 of its charter, which states that a foreign attack on one member is considered an attack on the other 18 members of the alliance.
Additional NATO assets being used in the coalition's war against terrorists include the Standing Naval Force Mediterranean, a multination task force of ships being used in the eastern Mediterranean to guard the approaches to the Suez Canal.
Other communications and command-and-control assets belonging to NATO also are available.
``I hope we can help America,'' said Perowne, of the United Kingdom, who is deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic and based in Norfolk.
``America has stood by Europe many times and, in this tiny way, . . . we are standing by America, visibly standing by America.''
The help is small compensation for all the times America has aided Europe during the past 50 years, Dora said.
``This is true for all of Europe, but especially true for our country, because Germany owes you a lot of thanks. This is a very small return. We are proud that we could pay back a little bit of (those) big things you have done for Europe.
``That is not just how I feel but how the crews feel, and that is true for all the 13 nations'' involved in the effort.
Our military has been downgraded to the point where we aren't able to monitor our own shores without help. Very sad.
``This is true for all of Europe, but especially true for our country, because Germany owes you a lot of thanks. This is a very small return. We are proud that we could pay back a little bit of (those) big things you have done for Europe.
Fifty years from now, perhaps Afghanistan and the Middle East will say the same.
Land based radar can not detect low flying planes, AWACS can.
What are the numbers?
The two "low flying" planes which hit the WTC were visible on ATC radar. Would having an AWACS overhead have stopped those two?
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