ARLINGTON, Va., - The National Guard is critical to U.S. Northern
Command's mission, the combatant commander told a congressional committee on
Thursday.
"National Guard and Reserve forces are critical to [NORTHCOM's] ability to
carry out our assigned homeland defense and civil support missions," Air
Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr. said in his 2010 posture statement presented
to the Senate Armed Services Committee. He also commands North American
Aerospace Defense Command.
"We recognize the National Guard as a fundamental partner in the Total Force
and essential to the security and defense of our nation," he said. "The Air
National Guard provides the bulk of NORAD's operational force for air
sovereignty alert missions and is developing additional capabilities in
support of domestic requirements.
"The Army National Guard provides all of the manning at our ground-based
interceptor sites in support of missile defense requirements. Additionally,
the Army National Guard provides the bulk of personnel for ground-based
defense capabilities protecting the National Capital Region."
Stood up in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, NORTHCOM is -
in Renuart's words - "inextricably linked" with NORAD at their shared
Colorado Springs, Colo., headquarters.
NORTHCOM is responsible for homeland defense, sustaining continuous
situational awareness and readiness to protect the homeland against a range
of symmetric and asymmetric threats in all domains.
Its area of responsibility includes the continental United States, Alaska,
Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, French
territory off the Canadian coast and three British Overseas Territories.
"We are focused on deterring, preventing and defeating attacks against the
United States," Renuart said. "We also stand ready to support primary
agencies ... in responding quickly to natural or manmade disasters."
NORTHCOM's missions are intertwined with National Guard missions. Indeed, the
command is extremely joint with personnel from every branch of the armed
forces and many civilian agencies assigned to Colorado Springs.
The command has the largest concentration of Title 10 National Guard officers
in a joint organization outside the National Guard Bureau, and the most
recent deputy commander has been Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, who was the
chief of the National Guard Bureau until late 2008.
"Our ongoing partnerships with the National Guard have increased our ability
to coordinate and integrate joint and interagency operations," Renuart said.
"I am pleased to report our collaboration ... has never been better, and the
experience gained by Guardmembers serving throughout [NORTHCOM] ensures we
have a strong foundation for enhancing this relationship."
Among missions with heavy Guard involvement is Operation Noble Eagle, a post
9/11 initiative to protect U.S. and Canadian airspace that has seen Air
National Guardmembers and Reservists fly more than 80 percent of its more
than 55,000 missions.
Other examples include National Guard contributions to the command's
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosives
Consequence Management Response Forces; joint exercises; Guard contributions
to the joint Haiti response; and the Guard's role in contributing to the team
effort to improve the interoperability of communications between the Defense
Department, the Department of Homeland Security and numerous state and local
partner agencies.
Other NORTHCOM missions also have a National Guard nexus, including cyber
security, H1N1 operations and inland search and rescue.
In November, NORTHCOM used the National Guard's Muscatatuck facility in
Indiana for a field training exercise that simulated an improvised nuclear
device detonation.
In January, the command teamed with the National Guard Bureau for a hurricane
planning workshop in Tampa, Fla., where hundreds of representatives from 30
states joined senior homeland security and Federal Emergency Management
Agency leaders to plan emergency preparedness.
"Next year, we plan to expand the scope of the planning conference to include
all hazards," Renuart reported to Congress.
The hurricane workshop was only the latest in a series of collaborative
efforts. Renuart has met individually with 37 of the adjutant generals and
addressed all 54 and the District of Columbia's commanding general
collectively.
"Working with our mission partners is essential to ensuring the American
people receive assistance during times of need," Renuart said. "Our nation's
governors take very seriously their role as commanders-in-chief of their
states, and we respect that authority. Our job is to support our nation's
governors in responding to emergency situations and threats to their states."