PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Representatives from some of the agencies U.S. Northern Command works with to fulfill its mission of providing defense support to civil authorities attended the first State Partners Day hosted recently at command headquarters.
Representatives from the National Governors Association, National Emergency Managers Association, Emergency Management Assistance Compact and International Association of Emergency Managers toured the North American Aerospace Defense Command and USNORTHCOM command center, talked with USNORTHCOM senior leaders, attended briefings and met liaisons who permanently represent federal agencies at USNORTHCOM.
"What we wanted to do today was give them a sense of what NORAD and USNORTHCOM were all about," said Bear McConnell, head of USNORTHCOM's Interagency Coordination directorate. "We wanted them to understand how we look upon life from an operational point of view, and we wanted to hear what they had to say."
State governors and USNORTHCOM both have missions to defend the homeland, said David Quam, federal relations director for the National Governors Association.
"Governors are commanders-in-chief of the National Guard within their states. NORTHCOM has a mission to protect the United States and the citizens thereof. It's a shared responsibility," Quam said. "It's great to be here to try to establish that partnership and the relationship we need to do that effectively."
USNORTHCOM’s civil support mission includes domestic disaster relief operations that occur during fires, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes and can also include counter-drug operations and managing the consequences of a terrorist event employing a weapon of mass destruction. The command provides assistance to a lead agency when tasked by the Department of Defense and works side-by-side with other local, state and federal organizations.
It's a good idea to know as much as you can about your partners and share information with them, said Jack Jowett of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
"We're all partners in response," Jowett said. "When something affects the homeland or affects our citizens, it's incumbent upon us, no matter if we're local government, state government, federal, whatever discipline we're in, to work together, to integrate our systems, to respond, to save lives and protect property. It's very basic."
Coordinating relief efforts with many different agencies following a disaster can be difficult, said Larry Gispert, first vice president and president-elect of the International Association of Emergency Managers.
"You need to (get together) when the sun is shining, so when it's hitting the fan, we can say, 'Yeah, you remember back in Colorado Springs when you said you were going to do this? Well, let's do it'," Gispert said.
The first USNORTHCOM State Partners Day was an excellent start, said Ken Murphy, vice president and president-elect of the National Emergency Managers Association.
"I think it is a good chance for the new commanding general here to work with all the different partners – whether they're city, county, federal, state, tribal – to start that relationship-building (and) understand each other's jobs and issues," Murphy said. "I think the citizens of this country will be better off from just what we've started here today."
USNORTHCOM's State Partners Day will probably be the first in a series of similar events, according to McConnell.