Narrative:

Two non-rvsm F15s were returning to base from guard dog cap over dca. The F15s were handed off at FL240 to me at pin; in an area were pin owns FL280 and above. Coordination between guard dog and the lower sectors was overheard; but no coordination occurred between guard dog and me at pin. The F15s checked in as a flight of 2; non-standard formation; non-rvsm requesting unrestricted climb to the high 40s. Until the F15s had checked on; I was unaware of the non-standard status of the flight. At the same time; a MD88; at FL340; requested descent to FL300 for a bad ride; and two over-ride calls occurred. After handling the calls; I put a 5 mile ring on the F15s; asked the traffic off of his left side to say heading and was told 235. Meaning to issue a parallel heading; I mistakenly issued the F15s a 275 heading and an unrestricted climb to requested altitude. The MD88; off the F15s' right side; restated the requested for lower. I issued direct mol; turning the aircraft further to the right and away from the F15s; and a descent to FL300. At this point; I noticed the F15s was turning too far to the right and into MD88; but the altitude read out had changed to XXX and I couldn't tell what altitude he was out of. I told the F15s to amend altitude to FL320 and he replied that he was already through FL330 and would descend back down. By this time the MD88 had started his descent so I told the F15s to just stop where he was and he reported level at FL330. I immediately told the MD88 to stop his descent; but my first call went unanswered. The MD88 responded to my second call and then advised me that they were responding to an RA and climbing. A loss of separation occurred. When guard dog cap is active; there are no set procedures for entry into or exit out of the cap; it is entirely at the discretion of the guard dog controller. This allows for a great deal of confusion as well as a huge potential for safety risks; since no two flights are ever handled to same; even if proceeding to the same destination. The LOA between all using facilities of the guard dog cap need to be redrafted to include standard entry and exit procedures; this will ensure the safety of both participating and non-participating aircraft as they transition into and out of the airspace. Standardized procedures would prevent the loss of information; such as the non-standard formation; and would make it clear to all facilities involved not only who has control for what and when; but also the initial flight path; altitude; and intent of entering/exiting aircraft would clear.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ZDC Controller described a loss of separation event when military aircraft recovering from DCA CAP duties conflicted with an air carrier. The reporter noted the procedures governing exits are in need of standardization.

Narrative: Two non-RVSM F15s were returning to base from Guard Dog CAP over DCA. The F15s were handed off at FL240 to me at PIN; in an area were PIN owns FL280 and above. Coordination between Guard Dog and the lower sectors was overheard; but no coordination occurred between Guard Dog and me at PIN. The F15s checked in as a flight of 2; non-standard formation; non-RVSM requesting unrestricted climb to the high 40s. Until the F15s had checked on; I was unaware of the non-standard status of the flight. At the same time; a MD88; at FL340; requested descent to FL300 for a bad ride; and two over-ride calls occurred. After handling the calls; I put a 5 mile ring on the F15s; asked the traffic off of his left side to say heading and was told 235. Meaning to issue a parallel heading; I mistakenly issued the F15s a 275 heading and an unrestricted climb to requested altitude. The MD88; off the F15s' right side; restated the requested for lower. I issued direct MOL; turning the aircraft further to the right and away from the F15s; and a descent to FL300. At this point; I noticed the F15s was turning too far to the right and into MD88; but the altitude read out had changed to XXX and I couldn't tell what altitude he was out of. I told the F15s to amend altitude to FL320 and he replied that he was already through FL330 and would descend back down. By this time the MD88 had started his descent so I told the F15s to just stop where he was and he reported level at FL330. I immediately told the MD88 to stop his descent; but my first call went unanswered. The MD88 responded to my second call and then advised me that they were responding to an RA and climbing. A loss of separation occurred. When Guard Dog CAP is active; there are no set procedures for entry into or exit out of the CAP; it is entirely at the discretion of the Guard Dog Controller. This allows for a great deal of confusion as well as a huge potential for safety risks; since no two flights are ever handled to same; even if proceeding to the same destination. The LOA between all using facilities of the Guard Dog CAP need to be redrafted to include standard entry and exit procedures; this will ensure the safety of both participating and non-participating aircraft as they transition into and out of the airspace. Standardized procedures would prevent the loss of information; such as the non-standard formation; and would make it clear to all facilities involved not only who has control for what and when; but also the initial flight path; altitude; and intent of entering/exiting aircraft would clear.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.