Col. Emil J. Filkorn, a Cazanovia resident, became the commander of the Eastern Air Defense Sector on Friday, June 3, during a ceremony at the Air Force Research Laboratory here.
Filkorn received command before a crowd of 150 family, friends and fellow Air National Guard members. The ceremony was presided over by Lt. Gen. William H. Etter, Commander of Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Region (CONR) – 1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern).
“It’s an honor to command a unit that plays such an important role in the daily defense of more than 180 million Americans and I am humbled by the responsibility,” Filkorn said. “EADS is known for its operational excellence and I look forward to working with our outstanding Airmen and officers to meet the challenges that lay ahead.”
A NORAD sector headquarters, EADS is manned by New York Air National Guardsmen, a Canadian Forces detachment, liaison officers from the U.S. Army, Navy and Coast Guard, and 40 federal civilian employees.
Responsible for the air defense of 1 million square miles east of the Mississippi River, the unit reports to the Continental U.S. NORAD headquarters, which is located at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.
Filkorn replaces Col. Michael J. Norton. Norton is transferring to Washington, D.C., where he will serve as the CONR-1st Air Force liaison officer in the National Capital Region.
A Hamburg, New York native, Filkorn graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy in 1990 with an aeronautical engineering degree. A scholarship cadet in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Filkorn was commissioned in May 1990 and entered the Air Force in April 1991.
After completing Air Battle Manager training in Tyndall Air Force Base in August 1991, he was assigned to the Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome. In 1995, NEADS transitioned from the active-duty Air Force to the New York Air National Guard and Filkorn became a full-time Air National Guard officer.
Filkorn has extensive operational experience.
Prior to taking command at EADS, he served as Commander of the 224th Air Defense Group, the New York Air National Guard unit that provides the forces to conduct EADS air defense mission. Filkorn has also served as Commander, 224th Support Squadron, and as Assistant Deputy Commander, Chief of Operations Control, and Flight Commander in EADS Operations Directorate.
Other assignments include serving as a Special Assistant for Air Forces Northern Operations Directorate and Joint Mission Commander for an Air Force-Navy contingent that worked with the U.S. Secret Service to support Presidential travel. Filkorn also served as Senior Director and Air Surveillance Officer for 1st Air Force’s Cruise Missile Defense Initiative that examined air defense technologies in the late 1990s and 2000.
Filkorn has deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Southern Watch, to Panama and Bahamas for counterdrug operations, and to Colombia to support air operations.
A graduate of Air War College and Air Command and Staff College, Filkorn’s awards include three Meritorious Service Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Medal and the Southwest Asia Service Medal.
Filkorn and his wife Kitty have two children, Maddie and Jack.
