It’s been nine years now since that fateful day on Sept. 11, 2001 when nearly 3,000 people died on American soil due to a senseless act of terrorism.
How long ago is 9 years? Today’s high school seniors were in the 3rd grade on September 11, 2001, and the kids now in the 3rd grade have lived a lifetime knowing only war for their nation. But we promised on the days immediately following 9/11 that we would never forget and so, I invite you to join with me and the men and women of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command to remember the innocent people, heroic firefighters, law enforcement and other first responders we lost on that tragic day.
The events of 9-11 continue to have a profound effect on NORAD and USNORTHCOM. What we learned from 9-11 caused the binational command NORAD to reevaluate threats to North America. What was once an outward looking air defense, is now an active, forward-looking and agile response force cooperating with our interagency partners for aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning for all North America. Additionally, USNORTHCOM was created in the aftermath of 9-11 and became fully operational Sept. 11, 2003 as the first-ever unified combatant command responsible for defense of the continental United States. Together, these commands work with more than 60 interagency partners and connect to 150 command centers across the U.S. and Canada.
Today, NORAD and USNORTHCOM are prepared to respond appropriately to any threats or disasters in or over our nations. Together with our interagency, intelligence, law enforcement, homeland security, and national, state and local emergency response partners, and the sovereign cooperation of our friends and neighbors in Canada and Mexico, we are working to stop terrorism here at home. And I’m thankful for the American, Canadian, and other coalition forces who have successfully supported friendly governments in foreign lands to prevent further attacks from reaching our soil.
As we honor those who gave their lives in New York, at the Pentagon, in Pennsylvania, and in other ways and in other places in the cause of freedom . . . let it be known that NORAD and USNORTHCOM will remain prepared and alert, that we will defend our homelands, and that we will never forget.
All the best,
Admiral Sandy Winnefeld