ARLINGTON, Va. – The crack of the sonic boom over Washington from District of Columbia Air National Guard F-16s scrambling to intercept a private plane flying off course in restricted airspace June 3 was a reminder of the Guard’s vital role in air defense over the nation’s capital.
The 121st Fighter Squadron jets were alerted to the aircraft that later crashed near the George Washington National Forest in Southwest Virginia, tragically killing all three passengers and the pilot. The alert came from the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which is fed information by the Joint Air Defense Operations Center (JADOC) at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington.
Since 2003, Guard units have operated the Joint Air Defense Operations Center on a rotating basis. The JADOC is the critical element of the command-and-control system that drives the National Capital Region Integrated Air Defense System. The mission is responsible for defending Washington and surrounding areas from hostile aerial threats by combining air-to-air and ground-to-air missile defense assets.
”The National Guard plays a crucial role in operationalizing the National Defense Strategy. Especially the No. 1 priority, defend the homeland,” said Air Force Lt. Gen. Marc Sasseville, vice chief of the National Guard Bureau. “We do that by providing fighter jets available to respond at a moment’s notice and providing ground-based air defense. We remain vigilant and dedicated to performing our no-fail mission — defending the homeland.”
NORAD utilizes 24/7/365 multilayered air defense systems to protect the skies over the National Capital Region. The JADOC is a part of that, said Army Lt. Col. Greg Rogers, who was the deputy commander of the JADOC mission in 2015 and is now the commander of the Ohio Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 174th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, which has assumed responsibility for the mission after mobilizing to the National Capitol Region last week.
About 220 unit members support JADOC by providing ground-based air defense and radar coverage to protect the region as part of Operation Noble Eagle. The 1-174th is one of only seven National Guard units nationwide that man, organize, train, equip and deploy to execute this mission — an assignment unique to the National Guard.
The Integrated Air Defense System in the NCR also consists of sensors, alert fighters and ground-based air defense weapons systems. Guard members staff the defense and radar systems that are controlled by Command and Control, or C2 homeland defense system. Data and information from those assets feed into the JADOC, where military leaders can properly evaluate threat assessment.
”The fact that defense of the NCR has been entrusted to the National Guard is a testament to the confidence and expectation of excellence that our national leadership has in our Soldiers and Airmen who have proved themselves time and again for the last 20 years,” Sasseville said.