Northcomm @ MindSay 
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 19, 2007 - U.S. Northern Command officials are closely monitoring Hurricane Dean's progress and continue to respond to requests for Defense Department support in preparation for landfall. At 11 a.m. Eastern Time today, the Category 4 storm was heading toward the Caribbean island of Jamaica with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. It's expected to make landfall on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula early Tuesday.
NORTHCOM has deployed the following personnel to support the federal response:
-- The Region X defense coordinating officer and six-person defense coordinating element has deployed to Louisiana at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
-- The Region VI DCO and six-person DCE deployed to Texas at FEMA's request prior to landfall of Tropical Storm Erin remains on-site.
-- A 17-person team from Standing Joint Forces Headquarters North is deployed to Texas to support the Region VI DCO and Army North.
-- An eight-person global patient management team from U.S. Transportation Command will help coordinate aeromedical evacuation efforts, if needed.
-- A joint interagency air-ground coordination team from Air Force Northern deployed at FEMA's request to assist FEMA and the Texas Emergency Operations Center and to help with aeromedical evacuation and search and rescue efforts, if needed.
-- The Region II DCO and DCE deployed to the Caribbean on Aug. 15, where they are supporting an advance FEMA emergency response team in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Should active-duty forces be requested to respond, the regional DCOs will provide their command and control and will facilitate requests for any additional Defense Department support through NORTHCOM.
Senior NORTHCOM officials said they are coordinating with FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Guard to ensure full situational awareness and appropriate response posture to Hurricane Dean.
NORTHCOM supports primary response agencies, as directed, as part of a comprehensive national response to manage consequences of natural or man-made disasters. The command also conducts operations to deter, prevent, and defeat threats and aggression aimed at the United States, its territories, and interests.
(From a U.S. Northern Command news release.)
By Petty Officer 1st Class Joaquin Juatai, USN
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 23, 2007 – The outgoing commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command reflected on his tenure at a news conference here yesterday. Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating, who will take command of U.S. Pacific Command, noted that NORTHCOM was created to bolster homeland defense in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
"I think NORTHCOM represents a significant improvement in our nation's ability to defend itself," Keating said. "We are better prepared today by far to defend our homeland because of the existence of Northern Command."
During Keating's two-and-a-half-year tenure as commander of NORAD and NORTHCOM, many improvements and upgrades to the way both commands perform their missions were enacted, including realignment to the Cheyenne Mountain Directorate, the traditional command center of NORAD.
"It is beneficial to improved combat efficiency and effectiveness," Keating said. "It will provide increased combat effectiveness for NORAD and USNORTHCOM."
Keating praised the personnel assigned to NORAD and NORTHCOM, stating that the United States and Canada have provided both commands with the "quality personnel and first-rate equipment" required to fulfill their respective missions.
"I am confident that we have the systems in place that will continue to deter those who would seek to attack us," Keating said. "I think the fact that there hasn't been an attack for five and a half years now is not accidental."
NORAD is a binational U.S. and Canadian command charged with aerospace and maritime warning for North America. NORTHCOM is responsible for homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities.
Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart will accept command from Keating in a ceremony here today.
(Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Joaquin Juatai is assigned to NORAD and NORTHCOM Public Affairs.)
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online and military and police personnel who have authored books.
By Sgt. 1st Class Gail Braymen, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
March 23, 2007 – Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. became the 20th commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and the third commander of U.S. Northern Command in a ceremony here today. Defending the homeland and providing defense support of civil authorities are top priorities for NORAD and NORTHCOM, the new commander said.
"We're engaged in a long struggle against violent extremists that seek to exploit any seams in our armor," Renuart said. "Our job ... is to mend those seams, to strengthen the shield."
Renuart assumed command from Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating, who is scheduled to assume command of U.S. Pacific Command on March 26 in Hawaii.
NORAD and NORTHCOM "have quietly and professionally conducted a mission that, by its nature, cannot fail," Renuart said. "It also has to be something that is invisible and transparent to our nation."
Renuart credited the close partnership of the United States and Canada with making NORAD effective.
"We consider our shared and peaceful border a perfect metaphor for the relationship of two distinct, yet joined, partners," he said, adding that NORAD and NORTHCOM share an "ever-progressive" and "continually evolving" relationship with Mexico.
"The collaboration ... with both these nations really does reinforce the security of our homeland," Renuart said.
Before presiding over the NORAD change of command, Canadian Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Rick Hillier awarded Keating the Canadian Meritorious Service Cross.
"No two sovereign nations in the world, except for Canada and the United States, have such a unique command structure," Hillier said. NORAD's and NORTHCOM's partnership with and assistance in standing up Canada Command "has enhanced the security of both our countries," he added.
During Keating's tenure, NORAD and NORTHCOM began the process of integrating into a single command center "to serve two nations better," Hillier said. "We fully support that, ... and our shoulder is behind anything that gives us efficacy and efficiency whilst continuing to give us a powerful and positive effect."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates awarded Keating the Defense Distinguished Service Medal before presiding over the NORTHCOM change of command.
"NORTHCOM has come a long way in just a few years," Gates said. Fewer than 15 years ago, he said, the command didn't even exist and "few people were thinking seriously about the types of threats we face today."
Keating took charge of the commands two and a half years ago. "I thought I had a reasonable idea what it would be like at NORAD and at USNORTHCOM," Keating said. "I missed the mark by a wide margin. The complexity of the mission, the challenge for each and every one of the men and women who come to work here every day is massive."
NORAD is a binational command that includes both American and Canadian forces and is charged with aerospace and maritime warning for North America. NORTHCOM is responsible for homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities.
"This is a sacred mission," Renuart said, "and it's one that ... (my wife) Jill and I look forward to continuing to carry."
(Army Sgt. 1st Class Gail Braymen is assigned to NORTHCOM and NORAD Public Affairs.)
This article was sponsored by criminal justice online and military and police personnel who have authored books.
By Carmen L. Gleason
American Forces Press Service
March 9, 2007 – The nominee to lead U.S. Northern Command and North America Aerospace Defense Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee here yesterday that he realizes the missions of both organizations are demanding and challenging, but that he would consider leading them to be a "sacred honor." Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. said he would not let the country down if confirmed into the top position for the two commands focusing on homeland defense.
NORTHCOM was established following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to provide for the defense of the United States and to provide military support to civil authorities when requested by the president or secretary of defense.
NORTHCOM also is responsible for overseeing military responses to natural and man-made disasters, such as hurricanes and incidents involving weapons of mass destruction within the United States.
Renuart told the Senators that his service both in the Joint Staff at the Pentagon and within the Office of the Secretary of Defense has reinforced the value of close working relationships among combatant commands, military services, defense agencies and Congress, in addition to governors and adjutants general across the nation.
"If confirmed, I'll join the men and women of NORAD and NORTHCOM in dedicating ourselves to the defense of the homeland," he said. "We'll work closely with our federal and state partners, our interagency partners, the National Guard, and the countries of Canada and Mexico, with whom we maintain a close relationship."
The general also told the members that he views intelligence sharing among relevant agencies as being vitally important.
Re-equipping National Guard troops and reservists also will be one of Renuart's focuses if confirmed for the position. "It will be one of my principal priorities to not only establish a better understanding on my behalf of the requirements for the Guard and Reserve," he said, "but to continue to be the strong advocate in the process for those requirements and to work towards getting them funded and resupplied."
The nominee assured the senators that one of his high priorities would be funding, training and equipping emergency response teams designated to work with local citizens and state first responders in the case of chemical or biological threats, in additional to natural disasters.
"It is important to have good visibility as the principal combatant commander on the readiness of potential forces," he said, "and to also understand carefully how the individual states view their capabilities to respond to a disaster or an emergency."
NORTHCOM will continue to work to deal with the effects of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina. He said the command's current leadership has created pre-scripted mission orders and pre-positioned equipment in key areas for short-notice use.
"I'm completely committed to continuing that effort," he said, "with a special effort on the communications (so) that they're interoperable not just among the Guard and the active force, but among the various federal agencies who would respond."
This article was sponsored by police and military personnel who have authored books as well as online criminal justice leadership.