During a recent Colorado 30 Group visit hosted by the Canadian Embassy in D.C., we were all sobered to note the proportionately large number of Canadian combat deaths in Afghanistan. It would be great to meet more of your Canadian counterparts at NORAD and NORTHCOM in future gatherings

Dear Gen. Renuart,

I think it’s fantastic that you have blog that allows the public to comment directly to Northern Command commanders.

Since I can’t seem to find an email address for you, I’ll have to settle for leaving my questions as a blog comment. Please feel free to respond to my email address if you do not wish this comment to be posted publicly.

I am a veteran and a concerned citizen. I have recently seen many disturbing reports and rumors floating around that I feel you would be able to clear up.

My first question to you:
Recent reports by Russian military analysts suggest the President has ordered upwards of 1 million US troops to be repositioned under NORTHCOM command. Is there any truth to these allegations? If so, why?

My second question to you:
Given the Federal Reserve's doubling of the money supply and zero percent interest rates leading to a large carry trade and the Chinese cutting deals with the Russians to buy crude oil outside of the dollar system, are you concerned about a possible sudden dollar devaluation by a coordinated action of foreign central banks? If not, why not?

My third question to you:
If a sudden dollar devaluation should occur, what actions would NORTHCOM engage in as it pertains to feeding the US public and suppressing possible riots? Does current NORTHCOM policy dictate US troops under federal control may be used to actively engage in policing operations against the US public in violation of Posse Comitatus?

My fourth question to you:
Would you ignore unconstitutional orders to disarm the American public, suppress the American public, or otherwise deprive them of their natural and constitutional rights without due process of law in the event of an emergency situation as your oath of office demands? If not, why not?

I appreciate you taking the time to read my letter and look forward to your responses.

Thanks,

Michael Suede

Dear General Renuart, Michael Suede is a well-known 911 Conspiracy Theorist who thinks the Government is/was behind 911.
FYI.

Here is Michale Suede in action. This is the guy your posting on your website.
He goes by the moniker 'Wound' on the Battleground Europe Forums. This is a thread he just started.

Veteran's Today Agrees With Wound

[QUOTE=wound;4719016]Because they aren't a bunch of fascist swine like yourselves:

[url]http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9762[/url]


I'm sure you'll read it and call the CIA operatives liars, you'll call the FBI agents liars, and you'll call the Blackwater employees liars.

You'll completely dismiss all the allegations and your fascist Orwellian brains will have wiped them from your mind by the time you wake up tomorrow.

Praise Stalin.[/QUOTE]

Michael,

First let me thank you for your e-mail and, most of all, your dedicated service to your country. And thank you for taking the time to ask questions that will help NORAD and USNORTHCOM educate citizens of North America about our very important mission to defend our homelands. Interestingly, we have seen the questions you asked posed almost as facts in many blogs, and we honestly appreciate you taking the time to seek the truth. You are one of the few who has taken the time to do this.

There is no truth to the EU Times story of a massive troop increase under my command, US Northern Command. In fact, I was surprised myself when I first became aware about these reports just a few weeks ago. I can assure you that the notion that I have been asked or directed to stand-up any 1-million-sized force is completely without fact. I think it is interesting to note here that there are 1.4 million active duty forces total in all the U.S. Military combined today.

Now, it is true that the Department of Defense has been working for a few years now to stand-up 3 organizations called Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosive (CBRNE) Consequence Management Response Forces, or CCMRF, a Title 10 Task Force comprised of Total Force (DoD Active and Reserve component) capabilities. These three forces will total no more than approximately 15,000 service members and are to be used in case of a chemical, biological, or nuclear attack in our country. These forces would come mostly from the Guard and Reserve and would be utilized only to help a State handle a crisis that would be larger than what the State itself could manage. While they would be under my command and control from a military chain of command perspective, they would be supporting a primary federal agency that, in turn, is directed by the President to support a Governor and his or her state and city officials.

As an American Service member, and not an economist, I can’t begin to comment or speculate on the implications of a sudden dollar devaluation as you described. Finally, I really don’t think our situation is near as dire as your comments might suggest. I am confident in the capabilities and professionalism of our nations’ local, city, state, and federal organizations to uphold the rule of law. In concert with our partnered organizations, NORAD and USNORTHCOM remain prepared to defend our homelands and provide Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) as needed and requested.

I want to thank you again for your questions and our service to your country. Please do not hesitate to share my response with other concerned citizens.

Cheers,

General Gene Renuart
Commander, NORAD and U. S. Northern Command

Dear Gen. Renuart,

Your reply is much appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to reply to my comments.

-Michael Suede

Dear Gen. Renuart,

First off, I would like to thank you for participating in this sort of Military-Civilian communications.

I am an avid consumer of knowledge of all types, and thus, I pay attention to all aspects of our nation, and world, and how they could potentially effect my species.

My favorite area of knowledge.... is Logistics.

And it is in that capacity that I wish to speak to you, and request information.

Protecting a nation of more than 300 million people is no small feat, and the logistics behind sustaining a military, intelligence, and industrial infrastructure that facilitates the defense of an entire nation is no small feat, especially considering the advanced weapon systems that are currently known.

I like to think long term in my musings, and I see a current problem inherent in the United states military, and by extension, the United states Infrastructure.

Mainly, This is "Energy"... and of course the most pressing form of energy, is Petroleum.

I have seen reports that the United States military is the largest single consumer of Petroleum on the planet, as the logistics of maintaining a global defense network completely require the usage of the convenient and portable fuel, for Tanks, Transportation, Air superiority fighters, etc...

Unfortunately, this is precisely the problem. As petroleum supply is limited (Or if you prefer the abiotic production theory of petroleum, not renewed as fast as we use it) and will eventually run out at our current usage levels.

This scenario (Be it dozens of years in the future) will have dire consequences, not only for our Industrial economy (That facilitates the most technological military in the world) but also the Weapons of war, and machinery that facilitate to rapid transport, and prowess of the United States Military.

Not even touching on the politics of global petroleum supply, and demand, I am looking further down the road, when supply is exhausted (or depleted to the point that supply is a minor fraction of demand)

Now, instead of asking you questions on this topic... I will offer some knowledge that I have procured from my endless quest for information.


We have no real alternatives available to us to supplement our usage of petroleum at the levels that we currently require for our society, and military.

Biofuels would require so much farmland, that starvation would be the norm, worldwide.

Methane, and natural gas production is far below what we would require to supplant our usage of petroleum.

Battery technology is far from adequate as a power source, not to mention completely useless for Military Aeronautic purposes (Thrust Turbines)

Coal liquification would require more energy than would be practical, and that is also a limited (albeit less so) resource.


That being said, I see only one alternative power source for the future of military (and Industrial) use... and that is Solar produced Hydrogen.

The sun drops 3,850,000 ExaJoules of energy every year onto the earth. The equivalent of 29,192 trillion gallons of gasoline.

(US usage is 140 billion gallons per year)

1 : 208,514

Current storage technology is somewhat lacking for hydrogen storage (For transportation purposes) as hydrogen has great energy density by weight, but its energy by volume is somewhat lacking.

one kg of hydrogen contains 2-3 times the energy of one kg of gasoline, but would take up 3-4 times the volume. (This makes it somewhat impractical for transportation related purposes)


So, as it stands... I see the advancement of Alternative Fuels and Energy sources (Mainly Solar collection, and Hydrogen storage) as a vital part of the future of national security.

In a roundabout way of asking my question (Sorry for the Verbosity) What steps is the US Military taking to make sure that they do not "Run out of Gas"?

Thank you for your Service.

-Edrick

Dear Gen. Renuart,

I enjoy this forum you have, and I'd like to take a moment and ask you a few questions in reference to USNORTHCOM.

Although the EU Times story is most likely a fabrication, there was an Army Times story from September 30, 2008 ["Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1" http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/ ]that talks about having the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team being deployed in the US to deal "with civil unrest and crowd control" along with, as you mentioned above "to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack."

Could you elaborate a bit on what exactly the CCMRF's (CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force) mission is in relation to "civil unrest" and "crowd control"? What would their rules of engagement entail if they were to assist in a situation of civil unrest and crowd control?

In regards to biological attacks, you might be aware of Israel's recent announcement of giving all their citizens gas-masks in preparation for a biological attack drill. With in a day or so, President Obama released an Executive Order on the Medical Countermeasures of a Biological Attack [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-medical-countermeasures-following-a-biological-attack] . You are also likely aware of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism's report from December 2008 that stated the US can expect a nuclear or biological terror attack by 2013 (which might explain NLE '09). What I'm wondering about is what type of infrastructure has USNORTHCOM and/or the Pentagon set up to deal with such an event?

Many cities across the US have been drawing up preparations for mass fatalities - and how they'd deal with them. Much of these under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security. (These plans are easily accessable on the internet.) Since these communities have plans put in place to deal with a mass fatality event, my question to you is, does the Pentagon have a contingency plan if the more local mass fatality plans don't work out as planned? Secondly, is this planning being done because of the apparent certaintly of a biological or nuclear attack occurring, or are they merely precautionary?

I thank you for taking the time to read this, and I'm looking forward to a responce.

Sincerely,

Chad Heller