N.E. Wings Participating in Ardent Sentry Exercise

Col. Dan Leclair
Commander
Northeast Region

Civil Air Patrol is participating in Ardent Sentry 2017, a national-level exercise April 24-28 providing a highly complex and integrated training environment where the military can interface with federal, state and local responders.

Ardent Sentry, conducted annually by North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, focuses on defense support to civil authorities with military capabilities. Previous exercise scenarios have included natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis and earthquakes.

Throughout the week, city, state, federal and military officials will work through the steps required to respond to a catastrophic man-made disaster. Civil Air Patrol, acting as the Air Force Auxiliary, is participating by providing damage assessment and evacuation route aerial surveys. CAP’s Northeast Region Coordination Center mission base is located in White Plains, New York.

Five CAP Northeast Region wings – New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts – are supporting the mission, and Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island Wing aircrews are on standby if additional aircraft are required to support the mission.

“Northeast Region wings are actively supporting 1st Air Force and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on this mission, and we have over 20 aircraft in the air today flying in New York airspace,“ said Col. Jack Ozer, Northeast Region incident commander.

“Our aircrews are supporting this mission as a part of the Air Force Total Force,” he said.