Air Forces Northern National Security Emergency Preparedness Directorate The Air Forces Northern National Security Emergency Preparedness Directorate ( AFNSEP or NSEP ) , of the First Air Force ( 1AF or AFNORTH ) operates out of its Northern Headquarters at Tyndall Air Force Base , Florida , effective 1 January 2008 . NSEP facilitates and coordinates USAF Defense Support to Civil Authorities ( DSCA ) for natural and man - made disasters and or emergencies . The Directorate advises and consults with Office of the Secretary of Defense , Unified Combatant Command , Joint Staff Director of Military Support ( JDOMS ) , and all levels of civil and military authorities on DSCA issues . Provides Air Force with specific leadership for critical situational awareness between the commands and the field . Mission . AFNSEP in close collaboration with interagency and allied partners , anticipates and when directed conducts Homeland Defense and Civil Support operations to defend , protect , and secure the United States and its interests . For 2011 , AFNORTH and AFNSEP focus is on air sovereignty alert mission and Operation Noble Eagle , the command ' s response to the attacks , which aim to protect the country from another aerial attack . History . AFNSEP was originally began as " Air Force National Security Emergency Preparedness Agency " , but changed its name when it was deactivated as an Air Staff Field Operating Agency to Air Forces Northern National Security Emergency Preparedness Directorate . This realignment occurred under the United States Northern Command , 1 October 2006 . The first commander of AF Northern HQ was Maj . Gen . Henry C . Morrow , AFNORTH Commander , until November , 2009 . 2007 California fires . While USAF local airmen were helping in the battle of deadly blazes consuming hundreds of acres of Southern California , AFNSEP / AFNORTH sent an Air Component Coordination Element , or ACCE , to the region to support firefighting operations . AFNSEP ' s eight - person ACCE team coordinated all Air Force , Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units helping with firefighting efforts . AFNSEP also dispatched six C - 130 Hercules aircraft which dumped over 3 , 000 gallons of fire retardant on blazes , to help with the firefighting effort . ( Reported by Maj . Gen . Hank Morrow , AFNORTH Cmdr . ) Background . The lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and new needs arising out of US homeland disaster and emergency response operations dictated this re - alignment . This will result in a contiguous command , control and support from Air Forces forces to needed civilian authorities during times of national emergencies and disasters . The AFNSEP program was originally developed due to President Ronald Reagan ' s 1988 Executive Order 12656 . There was a need to expand the military ' s role beyond military defense to responding to national emergencies and supporting civilian needs in natural disasters . Since their formation , AFNSEP has supported more than 125 major disasters , including the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill , several California wildfires , the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster , several hurricanes to include Andrew and Katrina , and typhoon relief across America and the Pacific region . Operations . The role of AFNSEP is to train and deploy Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officers ( EPLO ) . EPLOs are normally senior Air Force Reserve Individual Mobilization Augmentee ( IMA ) officers , who coordinate military assistance to federal agencies and state government when homeland support is requested . NASA support . AFNORTH provided the manpower for U . S . Northern Command ' s Joint Task Force - Space Transportation System , responsible for the search and rescue of NASA astronauts and recovery of or crisis response of the Space Shuttle .