SANFORD — It was sunny and cold in Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada on Friday. Probably colder than the temperatures Jessica Kempf is used to these days.

A Sanford native, Kempf lives in Florida now, where she’s a member of the Florida Air National Guard.

So what was she doing in Goose Bay?

For the past couple of weeks, Kempf and about 550 others from both the U.S. and Canadian military have been conducting an exercise called Vigilant Shield, through the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The agency is commonly called NORAD, and according to literature supplied by the entity’s public affairs division, it is a bi-national command formed in 1957 by a partnership between Canada and the United States. NORAD provides maritime warning, aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America.

According to Royal Canadian Air Force Capt. Alexandre Cadieux, who is also a public affairs representative for the Canadian portion of NORAD, deployed Canadian assets were to include CF-18s, and 8 ACCS ”“ a deployable air space control system. Deployed American assets were to include F-15s, E-3 AWACs and KC-135 tankers.

He said deployed units were to include all the necessary maintenance and support personnel to allow for sustained flying operations at the deployed location.

Kempf’s role is to make sure the computers work for 107 of those deployed.

“One thing we all have in common is the defense of North American Air Space,” said Kempf. “The operation here, the exercise, is to provide training on solutions for different scenarios.”

And while some might suppose that the operation is in response to the uptick in activity by ISIS, the exercise has been in the planning stages for over a year, Kempf said, and has nothing to do with what is going on overseas.

The community of Happy Valley-Goose Bay has a population of about 7,500. It is also the home of Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, and is the home of its 5 Wing Goose Bay.

The NORAD exercise began Oct. 15 and wound down Oct. 27. Kempf’s hitch began Oct. 20.

She said she’s met a few Canadians as part of this deployment, and employed the French she learned at Sanford High School to have a conversation.

Kempf, who graduated from Sanford High School in 1999, joined the Air Force and was first deployed in Tampa, Florida. Next came a deployment to Korea. After leaving full-time military service, Kempf was part of the Maine Air National Guard until a couple of years ago. She moved to Florida to be with her grandmother after her grandfather died, and joined the Air National Guard there. Kempf also works full-time as a civilian with the guard, on the computer help desk.

This was her first deployment with NORAD.

She said there was some talk around the base about the killing last week of a soldier in Ottawa who was on guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And mindful of the terrorist acts the United States has endured in recent years, she said she can relate to how Canadians are feeling.

By now, she’s back in sunny Florida. But Kempf, whose parents and sister are in Sanford, and who has extended family in Waterboro and Kennebunk, is saying a symbolic “hi” from Goose Bay, especially to her parents, Mike and Sherry Kempf.

“Thank you for your support,” she said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].