FORT BLISS, Texas — Joint Task Force North (JTF-North), a joint service command dedicated to homeland security and border support, cased its organizational colors during a ceremony hosted by Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, on June 3, 2026.
The ceremony marks the formal deactivation of the command, concluding a 37-year homeland defense mission. This transition is part of a broader USNORTHCOM and Department of War (DoW) strategic realignment to optimize resources, modernize force posture, and shift from temporary tactical operations to a permanent interagency network targeting complex transnational threats.
A Legacy of Border Security and Homeland Defense (1989–2026)
JTF-North was established on Nov. 13, 1989, at Fort Bliss, Texas, as Joint Task Force Six (JTF-6). Created in response to former President George H.W. Bush's renewed national counterdrug initiatives, the unit was stood up under a direct order from then-Army Gen. Colin Powell, commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command.
Originally chartered as a planning and coordinating operational headquarters, JTF-6 was tasked with supporting local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies along the southern border to counter the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.
Initially, its area of operation spanned California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, covering more than 660,000 square miles. Recognizing the strategic value of this unique joint support model, the commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command issued a directive in February 1995 expanding the command’s Area of Responsibility (AOR) to encompass the entire continental United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
JTF-6’s pioneering efforts fostered nationwide recognition of military utility in domestic counterdrug operations. It successfully forged deep, lasting partnerships among active-duty forces, the Reserve and National Guard components, and civilian law enforcement agencies.
In 2004, the USNORTHCOM commander ordered the redesignation of JTF-6 to Joint Task Force North. With this change, the command’s mission grew to encompass comprehensive homeland security support for federal law enforcement, and its geographic AOR was fully aligned with USNORTHCOM’s area of operation.
In 2019, JTF-North assumed mission command and control over several Army National Guard (ARNG) brigade headquarters, as well as separate ARNG battalion and company-level units, on a rotational basis. In 2025, this southern border security mission officially transitioned to Joint Task Force-Southern Border.
“For 37 years, the men and women of JTF-North operated in the shadows while defending our borders and coasts,” said Guillot commander, NORAD and USNORTHCOM. “They provided critical intelligence analysis, engineering, aviation reconnaissance, and operational planning. They built roads and fences and provided the analytical connective tissue that allowed our partners to execute their interdictions.”
"The character of transnational criminal organizations and violent criminal cartels has changed,” said Maj. Gen. Henry S. Dixon, commander JTF-North. “No longer is the Department of War merely in support of an individual law enforcement agency. We are seeing the need for a whole-of-government approach, bringing the DoW, law enforcement, and the intelligence community into one organization to integrate capabilities and strategies to dismantle and degrade these criminal cartels.”
Evolution to a Persistent Interagency Framework
To ensure seamless continuity, JTF-North’s current headquarters, personnel, and assets will transition directly to support the Joint Interagency Task Force – Counter Cartel (JIATF-CC). Officially established on Jan. 15, 2026, and headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, JIATF-CC is specifically designed to identify, disrupt, and dismantle cartel operations along the U.S.-Mexico border.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Joint Interagency Task Force – Counter Cartel Public Affairs Office
Director of Public Affairs: Eduardo Natividad
Phone: 915-472-2323
Email: eduardo.natividad.civ@mail.mil