What Is NorthCom Up To?
By Matthew Rothschild / November 12, 2008
This week and into next, NorthCom and NORAD are conducting a joint exercise called “Vigilant Shield ’09.”
The focus will be on “homeland defense and civil support,” a NorthCom press release states.
From November 12-18, it will be testing a “synchronized response of federal, state, local and international partners in preparation for homeland defense, homeland security, and civil support missions in the United States and abroad.”
NorthCom is short for the Pentagon’s Northern Command. President Bush created it in October 2002. (The Southern Command, or SouthCom, covers Latin America. Central Command, or CentCom, covers Iraq and Afghanistan. And the new AfriCom covers, well, you get the picture.)
Vigilant Shield ’09 “will include scenarios to achieve exercise objectives within the maritime, aerospace, ballistic missile defense, cyber, consequence management, strategic communications, and counter terrorism domains,” the press release states.
NorthCom’s press release also says that other participants in the exercise include the U.S. Strategic Command’s “Global Lightning 09,” which is a plan to use nuclear weapons in a surprise attack.
The Pentagon’s “Bulwark Defender 09” is also involved in the exercise, and it is a cyberspace protection outfit of the Pentagon.
Something called the “Canada Command DETERMINED DRAGON” also is participating, as is the California National Guard and California’s “Golden Guardian.”
California’s involvement appears to center around planning for a catastrophic earthquake.
“Under the leadership of Governor Schwarzenegger and direction of his Office of Homeland Security, the nation’s largest state sponsored emergency exercise will take place November 13-18,” a press release from the governor’s office states.
“Golden Guardian 2008 tests California’s capability to respond and recover during a major catastrophic earthquake. The Golden Guardian 2008 full-scale exercise scenario focuses on a simulated, catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake along the southern portion of the San Andreas Fault.”
NorthCom is being shy about giving out additional information about Vigilant Shield ’09. When I called for a fact sheet on it, I was told there was none.
But the Pentagon did issue such a fact sheet for Vigilant Shield ’08.
Last year’s exercise included “the simulated detonation of three nuclear dispersal devices.” The fact sheet stressed the need to support a “civilian-led response” and to “exercise defense support of civil authorities,” including involvement in “critical infrastructure protection events” and coordinating “Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection activities.”
That fact sheet ended by saying: “There will be minimal deployment of active duty forces and no crossborder deployments. We anticipate little to no direct impact on local communities.”
NorthCom has been in the news lately, after the Pentagon designated to it a battle-tested fighting unit from the war on Iraq. This appears to be against the law, according to the ACLU, since the army isn’t supposed to be patrolling our own country.
On top of that, NorthCom was up to its eyeballs in getting peace groups spied upon.
“The security people at USNORTHCOM . . . had begun noticing some trouble at a few military recruiting events in 2005,” Eric Lichtblau recounts in Bush’s Law: The Remaking of American Justice. “Military officials at NORTHCOM asked their counterparts at CIFA [the Pentagon’s Counterintelligence Field Activity] to ping their powerful new database—do a broader study and find out how many episodes of violence and disruption were actually imperiling their recruiters.”
And NorthCom even was in the loop at the Republican Convention in St. Paul.
Is it too much to ask Congress to look into NorthCom?
Source / The Progressive
NorthCom is part of my collection of ‘websites to read’ – if anyone wants to know what ‘they are up to’, here is a list of the things they’ve announced publicly since the first of 2008.
There is nothing sinister about their activities; we should be so glad to have the variety of safe-guards we enjoy in this country. The fact we have to have so many might be because we are such an aggressive and near-criminal country when it comes to starting conflicts and wars where the issue is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS. Nevertheless, since we are a country of war mongers, I keep the Homeland Security web-site and a few others on my rss feed (as most of us in America who use computers should).
Here is the list from NorthCom – you can read each article yourself if you have further interest.
USNORTHCOM News
2008
Transcripts · Speeches
Canada – US Civil Assistance Plan New
News Archives : 2007 – 2006 – 2005 – 2004- 2003 – 2002
Click here to visit the CCMRF News Page
Nov 10 NORAD and USNORTHCOM support Space Shuttle launch
Nov 10 DOD Support to manned space operations for STS-126
Nov 5 NORAD, USNORTHCOM participate in Exercise Vigilant Shield 09
Oct 31
NORAD, U.S. Northern Command host international officials at
Homeland Defense and Civil Support forum Has photo
Oct 17 Defense Coordinating Officer, Element deploy for Hurricane Omar
Oct 16 Sanchez, Litchfield recognized for excellence in mentoring Has photo
Oct 7 NORAD, USNORTHCOM recognize NORAD’s heritage Has photo
Sep 30 Canada-U.S. conference focuses on situational awareness,
maritime and border security Has photo
Sep 30 U.S. Northern Command gains dedicated response force
Click here to visit the 2008 Hurricane Response page
Sep 29 USNORTHCOM wraps up support for trio of hurricanes
Sep 19 Units assigned to CCMRF gain insights for new response mission Has photo
Sep 19 Military airborne imagery supported immediate hurricane recovery efforts Has photo
Sep 18 NORAD and USNORTHCOM official response to
final GAO Report on the Integrated Command Center
Sep 15 Top Army leader visits newly assigned consequence management force Has photo
Sep 14 U.S. Northern Command continues response to Hurricane Ike’s aftermath Has photo
Sep 14 Special Boat Operators ready to respond to Hurricane Ike relief efforts
Sep 14 Air Cav. sends relief in response of Hurricane Ike aftermath Has photo
Sep 13 23rd Wing deploys rescue forces for Hurricane Ike response
Sep 13 Rescue personnel fly first flights from Randolph Has photo
Sep 13 U.S. Northern Command provides additional support in wake of Hurricane Ike
Sep 13 Task Force Ike rolls out for hurricane support
Sep 13 Forces ready to respond to aftermath of Hurricane Ike Has photo
Sep 13 Religious Support Teams providing hope after Ike
Sep 12
U.S. Northern Command assists with Hurricane Ike efforts Has photo
Sep 12 Contingency Response Wing supports Hurricane Ike evacuation efforts
Sep 12 Weather forecasts protect Air Force, Americans
Sep 12 Joint ops plan driving hurricane mobility response
Sep 12 Hurlburt to Assist with Freighter Rescue
Sep 12 ACCE team leaves for Hurricane Ike support
Sep 11 AMC aircraft, personnel supporting Hurricane Ike evacuations
Sep 11 U.S. Northern Command conducts pre-Ike medical evacuations,
continues to prepare for post-landfall search and rescue operations Has photo
Sep 10 U.S. Northern Command conducts medical evacuations,
prepares for post-landfall Ike search and rescue operations Has photo
Sep 10 USNORTHCOM provides Hurricane Ike evacuation support in Texas Has photo
Sep 9 U.S. Northern Command’s focus shifts to Hurricane Ike
Sep 9 In Ike’s eye: Search and rescue poised, ready
Sep 9 Joint force trains to assume duties as chemical, nuclear responders in homeland
Sep 8 U.S. Northern Command continues response as focus shifts to Hurricane Ike
Sep 6 U.S. Northern Command continues hurricane response as focus shifts to Ike
Sep 4 USNORTHCOM repositions forces, prepares for Tropical Storm Hanna, Hurricane Ike
Sep 3 U.S. Northern Command prepares for Tropical Storm Hanna
Sep 3 USNORTHCOM continues Gustav response, begins return of some evacuees Has photo
Sep 1 USNORTHCOM ready in Hurricane Gustav aftermath
Aug 31 U.S. Northern Command, Canada Command Implement Civil Assistance Plan
Aug 31 U.S. Northern Command Continues Preparations in Anticipation of Hurricane Gustav
Aug 31 AFNORTH Hurricane Hunters on the move for Gustav & Hanna
Aug 31 JPRC Continues to Prepare for Gustav
Aug 31 AFNORTH assisting with Gustav MedEvac
Aug 31 EPLOs move into place to support Gustav
Aug 31 AFNORTH provides search and rescue for Gustav
Aug 31 AFNORTH ready to support Gustav relief efforts
Aug 30 AFNORTH activates JPRC for Gustav
Aug 30 EPLOs ready for emergency response role
Aug 30 U.S. Northern Command’s Preparations in Anticipation of Hurricane Gustav
Aug 28 U.S. Northern Command Prepares for Tropical Storm Gustav
Aug 11 USNORTHCOM hosts Private Sector Conference
July 24 NORAD, USNORTHCOM announce 2nd quarter award winners Has photo
Click to go to the California Eildfire Response page
July 23 302nd AEG is prepared to conduct California wild fire support operations
July 22 ARTs support MAFFS mission
July 22 302nd AEG conducts its twenty ninth day of California wild fire support
July 22 Mexican, Canadian, U.S. reps attend USNORTHCOM pandemic influenza seminar Has photo
July 22 U.S. Army North defense coordinating element deploys in advance of Tropical Storm Dolly
July 21 Some DoD, USNORTHCOM air assets, personnel redeploy as MAFFs
continue to help contain California fires
July 15 U.S. Coast Guard provides maintenance support to 302nd AEG
July 15 302nd AEG conducts its twentieth day of California wild fire support
July 15 Keystone visits NORAD, USNORTHCOM Has photo
July 14 USNORTHCOM co-sponsors Disaster Behavioral Health conference Has photo
July 11 302nd AEG operations: keeping tracking of everything MAFFS
July 10 302nd AEG conducts its fifteenth day of California wild fire support
July 09 Military aircraft provide surge capability for wildland fire response
July 08 302nd AEG maintainers keep C-130’s flying
July 08 302nd AEG twelfth day of California wild fire support
July 08 Preparation pays off for DOD in support of wildland firefighting efforts
July 07 302nd AEG twelfth day of California wild fire support
July 07 302nd AEG Day 3 of Reload Operations for Southern California Wildfire Support
July 06 Additional DoD, U.S. Northern Command air assets, personnel join forces to help contain California fires
July 06 302nd AEG eleventh day of California wild fire support
July 05 302nd AEG Day 3 of Reload Operations for Southern California Wildfire Support
July 05 Teamwork helps MAFFS break record Has photo
July 04 California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger visits 302nd AEG Has photo
July 04 302nd AEG launches California fire support mission on 4th of July
July 03 Varied aircraft provide key support to firefighters
July 02 AEG launches day six of California fire support
July 01 AEG launches day five of California fire support Has photo
June 30 302nd Airlift Wing sends 3rd C-130, crew to California to assist in aerial firefighting effort
June 30 Wyoming Air National Guard joins military aerial firefighting support efforts
June 30 Military moves aerial firefighting operations to McClellan Park
June 27 USNORTHCOM support deployed to California for wildland firefighting
June 25 Reserve Component Advocacy Conference works to improve response, support
June 25 USNORTHCOM assists with California wildfires
June 20 CWID offers technological solutions at USNORTHCOM Has photo
June 17 CWID 2008 tests interoperability solutions for U.S. Northern Command, multi-service, multi-national, and interagency challenges
June 17 NORAD and USNORTHCOM statement regarding news reports on the draft (classified) GAO report
June 13 F-16s will fly out of McChord during June exercise
June 13 USNORTHCOM supports FEMA in Midwest flooding relief
June 10 Gates addresses Air Force personnel at Peterson Air Force Base Has photo
May 20 NORAD, USNORTHCOM announce 1st quarter award winners Has photo
May 13 NORAD, USNORTHCOM open integrated command center Has photo
May 9 NORAD, USNORTHCOM wrap up participation in NLE 2-08
Apr. 28 NORAD, USNORTHCOM to train in national exercise
Apr. 24 NORAD, USNORTHCOM host Reserve Forces Policy Board Has photo
Apr. 15 Space-based capabilities ‘critical’ to NORAD, USNORTHCOM missions
Apr. 14 Canada’s Minister of Defence visits NORAD, USNORTHCOM Has photo
Apr. 14 USNORTHCOM contributes pandemic flu contingency planning expertise to trilateral workshop
Apr. 10 USNORTHCOM, DHS refine relationship
Mar. 28 JTF North mission helps secure southwest border Has photo
Mar. 21 USNORTHCOM hosts Hurricane Preparation Conference Has photo
Mar. 12 USNORTHCOM to host Hurricane Preparation Conference
Mar. 12 USNORTHCOM works toward greater jointness in civil support operations Has photo
Mar. 11 NEADS, AWACS link up for integration training
Mar. 11 NORAD, USNORTHCOM host Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Has photo
Feb. 26 NORAD and USNORTHCOM roles in satellite shoot-down
Feb. 21 Navy missile hits decaying satellite over Pacific Ocean
Feb. 14 NORAD, USNORTHCOM host senior enlisted military leaders Has photo
Feb. 14 U.S. Northern Command, Canada Command establish new bilateral
Civil Assistance Plan Has photo
Feb. 1 USNORTHCOM’s official response to Commission on National Guard and Reserves Final Report
Jan. 31 USNORTHCOM response to the Final Report to Congress by the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves
Jan. 24 Joint Color Guard to kick off Super Bowl Has photo
Jan. 18 NORAD, USNORTHCOM announce 4th quarter award winners Has photo