Royal Canadian, U.S. air forces create integrated top cover

by JBER Public Affairs
Staff report

2/13/2015 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- During the Cold War, the Soviet threat lay not far to the west of Alaska. The state's nearest neighbor shared more than 1,500 miles of border and the mission to protect North America.

They still do.

Several members of the Royal Canadian Air Force are assigned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson's 962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron, where they help maintain top cover for both countries.

The Canadian air battle managers with the 962nd AACS are certified at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma on all operational requirements before being assigned to JBER, and are not considered exchange or visiting positions.

"We fill any role we are asked to, and we [deploy] in support of the taskings the squadron receives," said RCAF Maj. Craig Derenzis, a 962nd AACS mission crew commander and aerospace controller. "There is no secondary input. There is no Canadian oversight that is going to tell us what to do. We are squadron members first, and that is understood by the entire structure here at the 962nd; it is a unique thing because you don't often see that.
"We've found that level of integration has become part of the squadron's culture," he said.

As a mission crew commander, Derenzis is responsible for the execution of the E-3's assigned mission as well as command of the multi-faceted mission crew who operate the aircraft's hardware.

The E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system - providing awareness of friendly and hostile activity, command of an area of responsibility, all-weather surveillance, and early warning of enemy actions during operations.

"There are a lot of moving pieces, and it's the MCC's role to ensure a coordinated effort toward mission accomplishment," Derenzis said.

Unlike a fairly straightforward cargo plane, there are two overarching aspects of any E-3 flight - the flying and the surveillance.

"It's definitely a crew-composed aircraft," said Senior Airman Scott Ellis, a 962nd communication technician. "You've got your flight deck; they are driving us to where we need to be. You've got your techs, which is my job ... we make sure all the equipment is working. Then you've got your mission crew, and Derenzis is the big boss-man for that side of the house.

"Everyone has their own role on the jet, and the MCC is taking all that information in and is making bigger decisions," Ellis said.

The Canadian and U.S. air forces work so closely in air defense because of NORAD commitments, Derenzis said; U.S. Airmen are also stationed at Canadian installations.

The co-manning arrangement ensures a seamless flow in contingency operations.

"We're collectively better at defending North American airspace by integrating and working cooperatively, " he said.

Derenzis said it was the opportunity to work with allies and be involved in international operations that attracted him to becoming an ABM, and that desire paid off when he had an opportunity to support the NATO flying mission on board an E-3 stationed out of Germany.

"There were 17 nations involved in that mission when I was there," Derenzis said. "You can imagine between those 17 nationalities, mostly European, you're going to have different expectations and a different paradigm brought to the table."

Derenzis said his exposure to U.S. Air Force operations has given him an increased appreciation for the subtle differences between actually working on a U.S. aircraft and the secondary interaction he had overseas.

"There is a fantastic opportunity to work with one another very frequently, and that doesn't [often] happen," Derenzis said. "In the NATO context, it happens to a degree, but even there you are looking at the complications from several different cultures that are dissimilar."

The cultural similarities between Canada and its southern neighbor mean that integration is less taxing, while still providing a new outlook, Derenzis said.
"Coming here, you see a different approach to operation and a different approach to regulations," he said. "It is fantastic to have that; you can kind of take the best approaches from the different services you work with and attempt to incorporate them into your own."

The appreciation goes both ways.

"What they bring to the fight each and every day is awesome," said Chief Master Sgt. Dwayne Ward, 962nd AACS chief enlisted manager. "They bring a fresh perspective.

"I think the mission, working side-by-side, is much easier than, say, working with an Italian, a Turk, [or the Dutch]," Ward said.

"We are both from the western hemisphere [and] we have a common interest, in that we both want to protect our air sovereignty."