"The Inevitability of Uncertainty and Surprise"

U.S. Northern Command Approaches Full Operational Capability

By GORDON I. PETERSON

Capt. Gordon I. Peterson, USN (Ret.), is a technical director at the Anteon Corporation's Center for Security Strategies and Operations.

Moments after the space shuttle Columbia disappeared from radar screens during its fiery descent on 1 February, several U.S. military command centers in the United States sprang to action.

When NASA declared an emergency, defense sources said, the Joint Staff's deputy director of operations immediately initiated a Domestic Events Conference from the Department of Defense's National Military Command Center in the Pentagon.

The procedures for the teleconference, conducted on a dedicated line that remains "hot" 24 hours a day, were established as one of the lessons learned following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The conference enables the federal government's wide array of military and civilian agencies to respond quickly and effectively to domestic contingencies.

Thomas Ridge, the secretary of the new Department of Homeland Security, placed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in charge of recovering Columbia's debris after it was determined that terrorism was not a likely cause for the loss. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld then tasked the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) to lead military support operations.

From his headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., Air Force Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart, USNORTHCOM commander, activated a Current Operations Group to support planning and preparations to find and safeguard the shuttle's debris. He also established a task force at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to orchestrate command and control of military resources and units in the event they were needed to support FEMA's recovery operations.

Initial military responders on 1 February included a diverse mix of units from the Pentagon, the military services, several Guard and Reserve units, and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

Recovery and analysis of the shuttle's debris are critical elements in NASA's investigation into the cause of the tragedy. The shuttle's wreckage, recovered from an immense area spanning several states, is being painstakingly located, examined, and then transported to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for further study. Retired Navy Adm. Harold W. Gehman Jr., appointed to chair NASA's investigation into the accident, confirmed in mid-February that more than 3,600 pieces of debris had been shipped to the Kennedy Space Center. An additional 10,000 pieces of the craft's wreckage are being transported there or to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

"From a DOD perspective," said Marine Corps Maj. Ben Owens, a DOD spokesman, "NORTHCOM stepped up to the plate and orchestrated a very professional response to provide military support."

"An Era of the Unexpected"

Occurring precisely four months after its formal establishment on 1 October 2002, the space shuttle Columbia tragedy was a defining moment for Northern Command as it works to attain full operational capability later this year.

Rumsfeld last April announced his decision to assign the defense of the continental United States to the newest of the nine DOD regional and functional commands during a special Pentagon press briefing on the 2002 Unified Command Plan.

"Today our country faces an era of the unexpected," Rumsfeld said. "The spread of weapons of increasing range and power into the hands of the world's most irresponsible regimes threatens to create dangers and instabilities around the globe, and we as a country have to be ready to ... prevent even worse attacks in the days ahead."

In addition to its national-security mission, Rumsfeld also said that creating the U.S. Northern Command will allow DOD to deal better with natural disasters on U.S. soil and with other civil difficulties. "It will provide for a more coordinated military support to civil authorities such as the FBI, FEMA, and state and local governments."

In the eyes of some observers, Northern Command's multiservice response to the Columbia disaster testified to the wisdom of Rumsfeld's decision to create a new combatant command with dual responsibility for defense of the United States and for providing U.S. military assistance to civil authorities during domestic emergencies.

"Our job will be to preserve the nation's security by defending the American people where they live and work, and support civilian authorities as needed," Eberhart said last year following Northern Command's stand-up. "We will also prepare for the inevitability of uncertainty and surprise. This will be a team effort from start to finish--our servicemen and women are ready for the challenge."

In addition to serving as Northern Command's first commander, Eberhart is the commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the binational command assigned the mission of aerospace warning and control for Canada, Alaska, and the continental United States. Although separate commands, NORAD and Northern Command work together to provide air defenses for North America, the NORAD area of operations, and the balance of the Northern Command's area of responsibility.

Northern Command's existence stems in part from the creation of the U.S. Joint Forces Command in October 1999. Previously known as the U.S. Atlantic Command, it had a wide array of geographic responsibilities and missions, including the support of U.S. domestic agencies in the event of a terrorist incident or an attack on U.S. soil involving weapons of mass destruction. To fulfill that mission, a new joint task force (led by a two-star general officer selected from a reserve component) was established and assigned to the command.

The likelihood of a major terrorist incident on U.S. soil or an attack involving weapons of mass destruction was well-recognized prior to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda attacks in September 2001. In the first of its three reports, the bipartisan U.S. Commission on National Security in the 21st Century noted in September 1999 that resentment against Western values and culture has been growing in some parts of the world. There also is a perception that the United States exercises its power with "arrogance and self-absorption." The commission warned of a backlash, saying it could take many forms but that terrorism appeared to be the most likely means of striking at the United States.

"Therefore," the 1999 study reported, "the United States should assume that it will be a target of terrorist attacks against its homeland using weapons of mass destruction. The United States will be vulnerable to such strikes."

The Commission's final report, issued in February 2001, recommended that a National Homeland Security Agency (comparable to the new Department of Homeland Security) be created to streamline, centralize, and improve the federal government's ability to provide for the nation's homeland security. "Homeland security forces must," the Commission emphasized, "possess the ability to deter, protect, and respond to threats to the American homeland."

During remarks at the October ceremony marking Northern Command's establishment, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz acknowledged the critical role the command will play in meeting its responsibilities for homeland defense. "We must be prepared for attacks on our territory and our people, whether from organized armed forces or networks of global terrorists," he said. "A fundamental way in which we'll remain prepared for uncertainty is through the commitment of the men and women of Northern Command, who today shoulder a great responsibility on behalf of our nation."

A National Team Effort

During the months since its formal establishment, Northern Command has operated in a "stand-up" mode as it transitions to full operational capability later this year. "The target date for full operational capability is 1 October," Rear Adm. Daniel H. Stone, director of logistics and engineering for Northern Command, told Sea Power, "but in many cases those capabilities are already in place."

Eberhart's command will address a number of key tasks in 2003. In addition to filling billets with well qualified personnel and developing important staff processes and relationships as part of its concept of operations, Northern Command has embarked on a robust schedule of command post, field training, and "tabletop" exercises. "They serve to educate, train, and exercise the staff and our component commands--and the essential relationships with other agencies so key to the NORTHCOM mission," said Stone.

All components of the U.S. armed forces are represented on Northern Command's staff. Coast Guard Rear Adm. James C. Van Sice, for example, is the assistant deputy chief of staff for operations (J3). Stone envisions the Coast Guard will play an important role during upcoming exercises and operations given its lead for maritime homeland security in the Department of Homeland Security. "Admiral Van Sice provides a great insight into maritime security and defense from a Coast Guard perspective," Stone said. "There has been a close relationship between the Coast Guard and the Navy for many years, and we can build on that relationship."

Stone sees team building as one of Northern Command's highest priorities at present--building relations with a wide range of civilian and other military agencies. Some--like the CIA, FBI, and FEMA--have assigned liaison officers to the NORTHCOM staff. As the Columbia shuttle loss demonstrated, command relationships must be clearly defined and understood before a crisis occurs. "We must make sure that we get the right information flow, and that we can control that flow to meet the needs of the mission," Stone said.

DOD makes an important distinction between the missions of homeland security and homeland defense. "Homeland security entails the prevention, preemption, and deterrence of, and defense against, aggression targeted at U.S. territory, sovereignty, domestic population, and infrastructure, as well as the management of the consequences of such aggression and other domestic emergencies," NORTHCOM's homepage states. It is a "national team effort" that begins with local, state, and federal civil agencies.

An Awesome Responsibility

Homeland defense, on the other hand, involves the protection of U.S. territory, domestic population, and critical infrastructure against military attacks emanating from outside the United States. U.S. law prohibits direct military involvement in law-enforcement activities. "The foremost priority is defending the homeland and providing military assistance to civilian authorities," Stone said.

During a major domestic emergency, Northern Command says it will serve as "the heavy lifter of last resort." Dealing with the emergency must exceed the management and resource capabilities of local, state, and federal civilian agencies before the secretary of defense will order the command to assist. "Our men and women in uniform are prepared and ready to lend a helping hand," said Army Maj. Barry Venable, a spokesman for the command.

Stone said that NORTHCOM will support a lead federal agency (normally the Department of Homeland Security) during homeland security operations in which it is involved. For incidents in which law-enforcement assistance is requested--comparable, for example, to last October's "sniper" shooting spree in the U.S. national capital region--the command generally will be called upon to support the Department of Justice and the FBI.

The United States is the world's fourth largest nation with 3.5 million square miles of land and 88,000 miles of tidal shoreline. Each year, 11.2 million trucks and 2.2 million rail cars travel into the United States across the 7,500-mile land and air borders shared with Canada and Mexico. More than 7,500 foreign-flag ships make 51,000 calls annually to U.S. ports. The country routinely admits millions of visitors from around the world.

Simply keeping track of who and what goes in and out of the country is an enormous task. The full extent of the homeland defense and security risks posed to the United States was dramatically revealed on 9/11 and during the periodic episodes of heightened security alerts imposed since that time.

At a defense seminar sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association in January, Northern Command's deputy commander, Army Lt. Gen. Edward G. Anderson III, outlined the challenges his command faces during the year ahead.

High on Anderson's list of requirements, according to a January article in the newsletter Aerospace Daily are: (1) better intelligence in the form of indications and warning to prevent and deter threats to the homeland; (2) improved communications with the full range of civil and military agencies; (3) effective command and control; (4) effective detection capabilities to counter chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear effects; and (5) improved means to protect critical DOD infrastructure.

"Homeland defense in and of itself is just an awesome responsibility," Anderson said. *

The U.S. Northern Command

Despite its huge responsibilities and broadly defined missions, the Northern Command has few permanently assigned forces. The command will be assigned forces from its four individual service component commands based on mission requirements. Several preexisting "standing" joint task forces have been assigned to U.S. Northern Command to give it the ability to execute important missions on a daily basis. Those forces include:

Joint Force Headquarters - Homeland Security (JFHQ-HLS). Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., JFHQ-HLS is the homeland security component of U.S. Northern Command that coordinates the land and maritime defense of the continental United States. It also coordinates military assistance to civil authorities. JFHQ-HLS plans and integrates the full spectrum of homeland defense and civil support to lead federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Joint Task Force - Civil Support (JTF-CS). Headquartered at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Va., JTF-CS is under the operational control of Joint Force Headquarters Homeland Security, which is subordinate to Northern Command. JTF-CS provides command and control for Department of Defense forces deployed in support of the lead federal agency managing the consequences of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive incident in the United States.

Joint Task Force - 6 (JTF-6). Headquartered at Biggs Army Airfield, Fort Bliss, Texas, JTF-6 provides Department of Defense counterdrug support to federal, regional, state, and local law enforcement agencies throughout the continental United States.