Tinker community to commemorate 9/11 with forum Published Sept. 2, 2011 By Mark Tarpley Vice President, Air Force Association, Gerrity Chapter TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The approaching 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, affords an opportunity to recall and recount how the horrific events from that day impacted Tinker Air Force Base and the state of Oklahoma. The local chapter of the Air Force Association is holding an oral history event to commemorate the response of Tinker and Oklahoma in the hours and days following the attacks. This event is scheduled for 8 to 11 a.m. Sept. 9 at the Rose State College Performing Arts Theatre. The AFA is bringing together the key leaders from that day 10 years ago to tell the story from their perspective. Leaders from the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, 72nd Air Base Wing, 552nd Air Control Wing, 507th Air Refueling Wing and Strategic Communications Wing ONE will participate in an informative and moving panel discussion to describe their thoughts and actions from that day forward. This event is free and open to the public. That morning started as any normal day across Tinker. Shortly after 8 a.m. the word began to circulate across media and government communication channels that an airplane of some type had hit one of the World Trade Center Buildings in New York City. While that act itself raised eyebrows, particularly among the Tinker flying units, it was the second aircraft crashing in to the other World Trade Center Building that brought everything into immediate and sharp focus. "When I saw the second aircraft hit the World Trade Center I immediately recognized that the U.S. was under attack and that soon the 552nd's E-3 (Airborne Warning and Control System) would be directly involved," said retired Brig. Gen. Ben Robinson, who was the commander of the 552nd ACW at that time. Similar reactions occurred when the OC-ALC commander, retired Lt. Gen. Chuck Johnson, received word of the events. His thoughts immediately shifted to how and what does Tinker AFB and the ALC do to respond to this -- and respond they did. "We responded according to Headquarters direction as if Tinker itself was under attack," said retired Col. Dennis Kann, former 72nd ABW commander. "We initiated a 100 percent ID check for everyone entering the base and added to that a thorough inspection of the inside of every vehicle. The traffic to get on base quickly backed up at all entrances and traffic on the interstate backed up for miles." At that point, the ACW was called to help defend the United States from further attacks. With the first day's chaos, airborne AWACS diverted from training missions to North American Aerospace Defense Command, otherwise known as NORAD, directed defensive flying missions with F-16s armed and ready, if needed. Further AWACS were launched to monitor and control key centers of the United States, like major cities and landmarks, in case of another terrorist attack. If an order came to shoot down a suspected hijacked airliner, AWACS was to control and execute the required intercept. While the concept of operations was being organized to accomplish this, the Federal Aviation Administration was directing all civilian aircraft to land immediately. In effect this was passing control of the nation's airspace to NORAD and the E-3 AWACS. This surge in operational need for the E-3, resulted in a call for help from the allies of the U.S. That help came in the form of the first ever deployment of North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces to the United States to help defend against any possible future attacks. The NATO E-3 AWACS deployed aircraft and personnel to Tinker for the next several months and joined their U.S. counterparts in Operation Noble Eagle. Sept. 11, 2001, provided a lot of "firsts" for this nation. Join the AFA in hearing the active players recount the events of that day and the impact it had on the state.