There has been a tremendous worldwide response to the tragedy in Haiti, and I would be remiss in not publicly acknowledging the significant positive role U.S. Southern Command has played in coordinating the U.S. military efforts supporting this devastated country. And, while USSOUTHCOM, and notably LTG P.K. “Ken” Keen, Commander, of Joint Task Force Haiti, and his remarkable team, have led much of the heavy lifting for our military, many other organizations have worked to help play a role in this response effort. When the Haiti earthquake occurred, the Commander at U.S. Southern Command, General Doug Fraser, gave me a call and said, “Hey! We [USSOUTHCOM] could use some help and you guys [USNORTHCOM] are configured as a command to do large-scale disasters. You do that every day. Can you help us?” And, of course, we said, “Absolutely.” So as of today, the US Northern Command headquarters has nearly 125 of our staff deployed forward into Florida, some with FEMA and DHS, some with Customs and Border Protection--and then about 97 or so in Doug Fraser’s headquarters, providing him with that disaster response expertise.

Our interagency two-star-equivalent civilian is there. Our Marine J-4, one-star, not only was in Florida, but now he is forward running the logistic operation in Haiti for General Keen. Our Standing Joint Force Headquarters -- we basically gutted the Headquarters and sent all 60 members down to SOUTHCOM. They are the Future Planning Cell that is operating for Doug Fraser in Miami. It made sense to put that capacity forward and to give him that surge capability to be able to deal with this huge disaster.

It’s what we trained to do. I think that out of this, one of the lessons will be that we have to think about supporting / supported relationships in a very different way. General Glenn Spears, who is the AFSOUTH Commander, needed help in building a Regional Air Movement Coordination Center process. So I chopped Major General Gary Dean, our Joint Force Air Component Commander, over to Glenn Spears and said, “Do whatever he needs for you to do.”

So, this airflow coordination function for AFSOUTH sits in the AFNORTH Air Operations Center--the search and rescue planners, the Joint Personnel Recovery--Forward, these things are things that we pushed to AFSOUTH to build capacity for them on very short notice.

I think these are the kinds of models that we are going to have to use in the future. I would suggest that if something of this nature occurred in another Combatant Command today, you might have a need to do the same thing. The bottom line to all this…we have to think very differently about the way we structure our joint Combatant Commands and how we partner with each other in a crisis to be successful.

Cheers, Gene Renuart

I recently had the opportunity to talk with National Guard members at both the Hurricane Planning Workshop in Florida and the Joint Task Force Commander Training Course.  Both venues were a tremendous opportunity to discuss how USNORTHCOM and the National Guard work together during a crisis situation.  And, while homeland defense is always our primary focus and requires 24/7/365 attention, bringing together a coordinated civil support effort is not happen stance either.  To support our states, integrated planning and shared situational awareness are key.  But even bigger than that, we must anticipate where a state or region might want our support, so we can be ready when they need us. 

Joint military operations in the homeland are complex, and the National Guard must be prepared to operate either for the federal government or the governor of a state.  NORTHCOM has a responsibility to provide the best support possible using our networks and resources, especially our specialized capabilities that do not reside in any other agency.

When it comes to homeland defense and supporting civil authorities, USNORTHCOM and the National Guard need each other.  We serve our states and our nation best when we collaborate to protect our citizens; and they deserve the best.

Cheers, Gene Renuart

Since Christmas Day, and the unsuccessful terror attempt to blow up a commercial airliner, NORAD scrambled and launched three times for a variety of aircraft disturbances. Many people have wondered and questioned if this is unusual, if NORAD is somehow on a new heightened alert. The answer is absolutely not. Although these events have been highlighted more in the media, these are not unusual events for our commands. In fact, in both 2008 and 2009, NORAD scrambled approximately 200 times each year and we’ve responded more than 3,300 times since 9-11.

When it comes to the decision on whether we scramble fighter aircraft or not, each event is evaluated on a case-by-case basis with the best information we have at the time. Our forces will be in place and ready if we are needed. The simple truth is we lean forward every day...the American and Canadian people deserve it.

Tuesday, I was in Mexico City to attend a ceremony in which the U.S. Government delivered five Bell-412 helicopters to Mexico as part of the Merida Initiative.  As Commander of U.S. Northern Command, I was honored to represent the Department of Defense in this historic ceremony. 

 

The helicopters are to be used by the Mexican Air Force for transport and reconnaissance missions. 

 

The delivery of these five helicopters reflect the U.S. Government’s continued commitment to work with the Government of Mexico as a full partner in dealing with the societal, international and regional challenges posed by the international cartels and narcotics trafficking.

 

U.S. Northern Command is prepared to do its part through continued support for the Merida Initiative and by taking steps here at home that complement those efforts.  We will continue to work with our Mexican military counterparts to increase information-sharing, interoperability, and training and equipping of their military forces.  A great step forward in our continuing relationship.

 

Cheers,

Gene

Another great week highlighted by a trip to New York City!  On Wednesday, we spent some valuable time with the Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg.  Mayor Bloomberg’s city has really become the gold standard for how municipalities should plan for the spectrum of catastrophes that can come at the hands of either a terrorist or Mother Nature.  They have taken the lessons learned from the tragedy of 9/11 and established a response framework that is obviously one of the best in our Nation. 

 

His leadership style is impressive and can best be highlighted by how he interacts with his staff and his constituents.  One noticeable example was that the Mayor has decided to not have a traditional office.  In fact, his desk is literally at the epicenter of activity for city operations.  He expressed to me that this design was the best way to break down barriers of communication and ensure that information flow between his staff and him is near instantaneous and allows for the least amount of bureaucratic obstacles.  At some level, this information design structure is very similar to NORAD and USNORTHCOM’s integrated Command Center.  Our center, which is tied to every state and territory in the United States, was designed to ensure that all of our domain watch standers (land, air, sea, space, and cyber) could provide information to our N2C2 leadership and then to me in the same unencumbered manner. 

 

We also spent some time talking about and pledging to each other to continue to work together.  I hope in the near future that we will be working with the City on large-scale exercises, which will truly hone our coordinated response should it be necessary. 

 

Next I spent the afternoon with USCG Captain Bob O’Rielly and his team at Sector NY. We had a great opportunity to understand the challenges he faces as Captain of the Port in the complex environment that is NY/NJ/CT. Weather kept us from getting out on the water!

 

The day ended with me attending the 48^th USO Armed Forces Gala & Gold Medal Dinner.  A great night and a great organization.  Thank you USO for all that you do for our troops!

Service Members, Family, and Friends of NORAD and USNORTHCOM,

 

Like many of you, I awoke this morning to a news story titled, “Secret Pentagon e-mails suggest distrust of Canada.”  I would have not spent another moment of thought on this story if I hadn’t realized that someone is actually taking these allegations seriously.

 

Unfortunately, no one called NORAD and U.S. Northern Command to ask us our thoughts on this theory.  If they had, I would gladly have educated the questioner on the long-standing and proud tradition of cooperation between the nations of Canada and the United States under the North American Aerospace Defense Agreement.

 

Since 1940, when U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King met to discuss the war in Europe and the mutual defense of North America, our nations have expanded and reinforced that relationship. Since 1957, when the first “North American Air Defense Command” was formed, U.S. and Canadian Forces have worked side-by-side under the NORAD banner to perform aerospace warning and aerospace control in defense of our homelands.

 

Today, more than 300 Canadian Forces work in the United States with the “North American Aerospace Defense Command,” where we continue with our original charter and the addition of maritime warning to deter and detect potential threats and ultimately defend our homelands. Under one command, every day, the U.S. and Canada share critical intelligence, resources, policy and procedures necessary to complete our mission. Ours is a trust forged by a half-century of active and comprehensive defense of North America. If any question remains of the trust between our nations, let the success of NORAD be the answer.

To the NORAD and US Northern Command Team,

On Saturday, eight brave members of our Colorado Springs military community were killed in combat in the hills of Afghanistan. By all accounts, the death of these eight soldiers, all members of the 4th Brigade Combat team, marks the deadliest day for Fort Carson since the Vietnam War.

I want to extend, on behalf of our entire command, our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the families of these brave warriors. The mission of Defending our Homeland is being fought on many different frontlines and we must never forget the dedication and sacrifices of these fallen heroes.

Please take a moment today to remember all who have paid the ultimate price for our freedoms and redouble your efforts in this continued battle against a determined enemy. I will.

It’s been eight years since that fateful day on Sept. 11, 2001 when nearly 3,000 people died on American soil. I invite the citizens of Canada and the United States to join with the men and women of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command to remember the innocent people, heroic firefighters, and medical and law enforcement responders who died on that horrific day.

This is also an appropriate time to thank the people who have ensured Canada and the United States have not experienced a catastrophic foreign terrorist attack in the homelands during the past eight years. For this success, we must thank the American, Canadian, and other coalition forces who have successfully battled on foreign soil to prevent further attacks from reaching our homes.

We must thank the dedicated intelligence, law enforcement, homeland security, and national, state and local emergency response folks who protect our families here at home every day. And we must thank our good neighbors in Canada and Mexico for their sovereign cooperation in working together to stop terrorism in all our countries. There are few things more important to homeland defense than good neighbors helping each other.

This Sept. 11 also marks USNORTHCOM’s sixth anniversary of full operational capability. USNORTHCOM was established in response to the 9/11 attacks and closely integrated with NORAD. Together these joint and combined commands work with more than 60 interagency partners and connect to 150 command centers across the U.S. and Canada. NORAD and USNORTHCOM anticipate and are prepared to respond to any threats or disasters in or over our nations.

We have demonstrated our will and ability to deter and defeat those who would seek to harm us at home. 

Further, USNORTHCOM is ready now to support civil authorities in time of need and when directed, whether in the aftermath of a manmade threat, a natural disaster or a pandemic. In just the past year, we’ve responded to fires in California, floods in North Dakota, and hurricanes from the Gulf of Mexico. We’ve zealously watched North Korea’s missile program, grown our missile defense capability, and honed our skills through nationwide exercises such as Ardent Sentry and Vigilant Shield.  

Now, as we monitor the pulse of our nations, and as we remember those who gave their lives in New York, at the Pentagon and in a hallowed field in Pennsylvania, I personally want to thank the men and women of NORAD and USNORTHCOM, whom I have the honor to lead. They are a key part of why the United States and Canada are safe today. They are making a difference and standing to the front in defending 307 million Americans and 34 million Canadians where they live, work and play; where they raise their children and where they build for the future.

As time passes, years will become decades since the 9/11 attacks, but a few facts will remain constant. Our enemies should make no mistake about our resolve. We shall never fail to defend our homes and our families. We shall remain alert and prepared, never letting down our guard. And we shall never forget.  

Gene

As our active duty and TRICARE members received their flu shots Thursday in the headquarters, I am reminded that the flu season is upon us. Whether it’s an uncommon strain such as H1N1 or just the latest seasonal influenza, the flu is a real threat to our mission, our families, and our way of life at home and across our nation.

Even with the world’s best doctors, nurses and medical facilities, each year thousands of Americans die from the flu, which means defeating the flu threat is more than just  an organizational responsibility. We all have the responsibility to take measures to protect ourselves, our families and others from infection.

While NORAD must be ready to respond to air threats, and provide for missile and maritime warning, USNORTHCOM’s Job #1 is homeland defense.  The health of our forces is critical to do both commands’ missions.  Under the National Response Framework, USNORTHCOM could be called upon to assist a primary federal agency such as the Department of Health and Human Services in response to a crisis like pandemic influenza.  Now, more than ever, the health and welfare of our service members, civilians, contractors and the families who support them is incredibly important as we prepare to respond if called upon to assist.

At home we must each do our part. Thanks to the 21st Medical Group, we brought the flu vaccine right to the office for all the NORAD and USNORTHCOM active duty and TRICARE members. We’ve placed hand sanitizer dispensers in major traffic areas, and we continue to encourage the staff to frequently wash or sanitize their hands.  In addition, should H1N1 surge as is anticipated, we are prepared to implement a social distancing program within the headquarters to slow the spread of the virus.

At home and day-to-day, our families can take similar actions to protect against infection. The first defense is the seasonal flu vaccine; ensuring everyone in your family is vaccinated. Encourage family members to frequently wash their hands with soap and water and use hand sanitizers between washes. Remember the old motherly wisdom: cough or sneeze into your sleeve; ; maintain a safe distance from sick people (the CDC recommends six feet); and get plenty of rest and exercise -- a fit body is a healthy body. But most importantly, if you are sick, stay home and avoid contact with other people.

At the very least, flu season is an annoyance but together we can act to keep it from becoming deadly.  We shall maintain the ability of NORAD and USNORTHCOM to respond  as a military force dedicated to defending our skies, defending our homelands and providing support to civil authorities if necessary.

Cheers,

Gene

We have just completed a combined NORAD and USNORTHCOM exercise called ARDENT SENTRY 09 that linked several U.S. and Canadian national exercises with regional, state and local exercise.  ARDENT SENTRY 09, which involved a wide range of participants from DOD, Canadian and U.S. federal, state and local departments and agencies, was conducted in regions across the country including Oregon, Wyoming, Kansas, Iowa and Atlantic and Pacific oceans off the East and West coasts.

 

ARDENT SENTRY 09 included a complex scenario of manmade disasters, terrorist-caused incidents, and homeland defense mission, and ran from June 18-24.  The scenario provided government, non-government and military organizations the opportunity to practice a coordinated response to these events in accordance with established national response protocols, directives, policies and the National Response Framework.

 

It was a great chance to train with our Canadian, DOD, federal, interagency, state and local partners as we practiced our respective response plans to these events.  Exercises such as this one allow us to work out the kinks in our plans and response operations, so that we can better respond in the future.  They also highlight areas where we need to focus our attention more.

 

I am very proud of everyone involved in ARDENT SENTRY 09, many of whom have been planning it since last year.  Your efforts not only demonstrated our current ability to defend and the U.S and Canada, but also testified to the professionalism of the people called to serve their country. 

 

I thank you all!
Cheers,
Gene