F-16s 
from the District of Columbia’s Air National Guard earlier this month scrambled for the 4,000th time since September 2001 in response to a potential airborne threat to the nation’s capital, announced Air Forces Northern officials. Lt. Col. Christopher Hardgrave, who commands the district’s 113th Wing air control alert detachment at JB Andrews, Md., said in AFNORTH’s Jan. 24 release he is “extremely proud of the accomplishments of the men and women” of the detachment for hitting this alert milestone, which they reached on Jan. 9. “It is a testament to the dedication, professionalism, and daily sacrifice of our folks who have done the alert mission day-in and day-out for over 11 years,” he added. The detachment is the busiest NORAD alert unit, responding to more alert events—whether rushing pilots to cockpit standby or launching to intercept a threat—than all of the other ACA units across the nation, according to the release. (Andrews report by MSgt. Jerry Harlan) (See also Capital Defenders from Air Force Magazine’s December 2012 issue.)
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
