EPLOs are senior Air Force Reserve Individual Mobilization Augmentees (IMA) officers (most often Colonels), who coordinate military assistance to local, state, regional, tribal, territorial governments and federal agencies when requested and approved by the Secretary of Defense.

EPLOs offer a rapid agility cadre to respond to natural disaster, NSSE, SEAR events or crises, and can easily back-up their regional counterparts across the nation.

Under this construct, the Director remained at the Pentagon to work the plans/policy activities, however, its operations were conducted from Fort McPherson, Ga., and was designated the Principle Planning Agent.

Based on the “All Hazards” approach to national emergency planning with expansion of military support of civil authorities, including issues of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction IAW “The 1994 National Security Strategy.” As Military Support to Civil Authorities (MSCA) missions broadened, the organization lent its support to NSSE, including State of the Union Addresses, the United Nations General Assembly, and NATO Summits, when held in the United States and requested by a LFA.

A liaison office was stood up at Tyndall AFB preparing the way for its transition from an Air Staff FOA to a 1 AF directorate in 2006 through 2008.

Since its formation in 1989, NSEP has responded to hundreds of major disasters, including the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, Western U.S. Wildfires, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, regional floods, earthquakes, and numerous hurricanes and typhoon relief across the U.S. Northern Command and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command regions.

Other SEAR or NSSE activities include, but not limited to, Olympics support, World Fairs, the Super Bowl, Indy 500 and Kentucky Derby, or inaugurations, State funerals, and national conventions.

They also conduct installation visits to active duty and reserve bases, educating commanders and key staff about DSCA.

As liaisons, they play a key role in crisis response, developing briefings and situation reports, and facilitating transmission of critical information.