Helping make disparate 
disaster relief elements coalesce into a coordinated whole is only a slight variation on a familiar refrain for Air Force Space Command forces. At the forefront, as usual, is the trusted navigation and timing abilities of GPS satellites. AFSPC has also helped tailor the Global Broadcast Service space-based, high-capacity broadcast communication system for use in Katrina support operations. On hand at Tyndall, working with the 1st AETF, are Col. Jay Santee, 21st Space Wing vice commander, and Maj. Paul Ohla and Capt. Jeff Owens, both from AFSPC headquarters. The Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., provides reachback support to Santee and his crew, and can, if needed, task space assets for direct support.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.