Until Sept. 11, veteran Hawaii Air National Guard combat jet pilot Capt. Chris "Frenchy" Faurot never had to worry that he could be ordered to shoot down a jetliner that might be carrying friends and loved ones. THEIR MISSION: PATROLLING AMERICA'S SKIES
Isle pilots stand
ready to defend
against errant planes
Adm. Dennis Blair has authority
to shoot down hijacked planesBy Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comBut that all changed when terrorists used hijacked commercial airplanes to destroy the World Trade Center and the parts of the Pentagon.
Now the Pentagon has given Pacific Forces commander Adm. Dennis C. Blair the authority, as a last resort, to shoot down any hijacked civilian aircraft that threatens Hawaii. Two Air Force generals have the responsibility for the continental U.S. and Alaska.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush had given the military the authority to order commercial airliners that threaten American cities to be shot down without consulting him. But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that such crucial decisions would be made only when attack was imminent and there was not enough time to consult the president.
Under new "rules of engagement" crafted by Rumsfield, Blair and Gen. Henry H. Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Blair now has the shoot-down authority for Hawaii, while Maj. Gen. Larry K. Arnold at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., has the authority for airliners flying over the 48 contiguous states, and Lt. Gen. Norton A. Schwartz at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, has the authority over Alaska.
Before the attacks, the military's "rules of engagement" did not deal with how the military should handle a plane that was hijacked for the purpose of being used as a suicide bomb.Faurot, 36, was in the air Sept. 11 in one of four F-15 jet fighters scrambled to protect Hawaii skies from other possible terrorist acts.
"We knew what had happened," said the 1984 Damien High School graduate. "It had occurred before 3 in the morning here. I had seen it on television.
"We were all briefed before we went up at 11 a.m.," added Faurot, who has flown since 1991 after graduating from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
"We had been briefed that a commercial airline had the potential of being used as a weapon. We knew that it might have to be neutralized."
Faurot acknowledged there may have been a brief moment of hesitation as the combat jets began their patrols, "but we all knew we had a job to do."
Last week, Vice President Dick Cheney disclosed that while officials were tracking the hijackings and after the attacks on the World Trade Center, the president authorized U.S. fighter pilots to shoot down any errant plane headed to Washington, D.C.
Cheney said, "If they wouldn't pay any attention to instructions to move away from the city, as a last resort our pilots were authorized to take them out."
By early afternoon on Sept. 11, the F-15 jet fighters belonging to the 199th Fighter Squadron had escorted the last commercial plane to Honolulu Airport, including an Air Force transport carrying the commander of the Pacific Air Forces, before the Federal Aviation Administration shut it down.
Recognizing the enormous burden now placed on him and other Air Force and Air Guard pilots, Faurot said it is something that cannot be taken lightly.
First Lt. Kristof "JAG" Sills, one of the newest members of the Hawaii fighter squadron, agreed. "We're well-prepared to do our mission." said Sills, 29, who was on duty on Sept. 11 but did not participate in the intercept.
The 199th is equipped with nine F-15 jet fighters and is the only Air Force unit with the mission to patrol Hawaii's skies.
Although Hawaii National Guard officials will not say how long it takes to scramble a fighter from Hickam Air Force Base, they said there are always armed jets on the alert pad 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"We've maintained that 24/7 alert posture since 1956," Faurot said.
"There are always planes and pilots in the sky," said Sills, a 1990 Pearl City High School graduate.
Faurot, who has been on flying missions to Alaska, Turkey, Panama and South Korea since joining the Air Guard, said, "There's a certain amount of anxiety on how long this is going to take and what is going to happen next. However, you get used to after a while since that's what it means to be in the Guard."
After the attacks, more than 100 fighter jets at 26 bases nationwide stand ready to take off on 10 minutes' notice, up from 14 planes at seven bases on comparable alert the day of the attacks. F-15s and F-16s fly round-the-clock over Washington and New York, and randomly over dozens other cities.
