Reunart Says The Commands' Missions Are "A Hemispheric
Problem"
U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense
Command are "inextricably linked" and share an "indispensable
partnership," the commander of both commands said in Washington,
D.C. Thursday. Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart briefed the Senate
Armed Services Committee on the commands' missions, ranging from
supporting law enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border to monitoring
Russian military planes and ships off U.S. borders.
Renuart also underscored his belief that the two commands should
continue to share a commander, saying the two are "inextricably
linked" in their mission to protect North America.
The commands operate with an integrated headquarters staff,
Renuart told the senators. "Our commands have forged an
indispensable partnership operating within a common security
environment," he said. "The synergies that exist between these two
commands enable us to conduct our missions with a sense or urgency
in the face of very real threats."
Northcom's mission is to protect the United States against any
threats by air, land or sea with responsibility for Canada, Mexico,
the surrounding territories, and 500 miles out at sea. The command,
which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United
States, also works with civilian agencies to provide civil support
against natural or manmade disasters.
NORAD is a binational U.S.-Canadian command charged with
aerospace warning and control and maritime warning for North
America. NORAD has flown more than 55,000 air surveillance and
security missions over the Washington, D.C., area since 9/11,
Renuart said. Last year, NORAD launched fighter aircraft 14 times
to identify unknown aircraft operating near U.S. and Canadian
airspace, said he added.
Last year, the general said, a NORAD representative was included
for the first time at the U.S.-Russia Prevention of Incidents Over
the High Seas staff talks. The representation is expected to
continue this year "to reduce the ambiguity of Russian military
flights near our borders and promote safe flight operations within
the international airspace," he said.
NORAD operations in Alaska "will remain a key avenue for
positive interaction with Russian military counterparts during the
reset of relationships between our nations," the general added.
Russia has increased its long-range training flights, but they
do not appear to be threatening, Renuart said. "We've had a couple
instances in the past year where Russian planes flew too close to
the Aleutian Islands," he said, adding that the Russian military is
increasing its flight training after neglecting it for several
years due to a weakened economy.
NORAD is developing a risk assessment as recommended by the
General Accountability Office to determine the types of units,
personnel and aircraft needed to maintain U.S. air sovereignty, he
said.
"Day to day, we are focused on deterring, preventing and
defeating attacks against the United States," Renuart said, adding
that Northcom monitors an average of 12 to 20 potentially dangerous
events each day.
Northcom shares intelligence with federal, state and local
agencies to prevent attacks in the United States, exchanging
liaison officers with several intelligence agencies. Following the
mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in November, the command
established a daily terrorism and force protection
information-sharing group to improve how threats are identified,
assessed and acted upon, Renuart said. It also works with the
Missile Defense Agency in protecting against ballistic missile
threats, Renuart said. The immediate challenge in that area is
balancing a real-time defensive capability with the missile
agency's requirements for research, development, testing and
evaluation, he told the panel.
Asked for his opinion of the new, phased-in ballistic missile
defense system, the general said he is confident in the system and
that "initial indications look very promising" that it will improve
U.S. defenses. A software glitch that caused a test of the system
in January to fail is being fixed, and the test will be repeated
"in the not-too-distant future," the general said.
One of Northcom's biggest missions is to support law enforcement
through its subordinate command, Joint Task Force North, which
coordinated 61 missions last year, Renuart said. The task force
employs joint air, ground and maritime sensors along the northern
and southern U.S. borders and coasts, detects, monitors trafficking
of drugs and weapons, and trains civilian border agents in military
skills.
Along the Southwest U.S. border, Northcom used acoustic and
fiber-optic sensors and robotics to explore, map and characterize
subterranean tunnels used in trafficking, Renuart said. In the past
year, Defense Department support has resulted in stopping the
construction of two unfinished tunnels, he said.
Northcom has shared military lessons learned in Iraq and
Afghanistan to combat violence and illegal activity on the
Southwest border, Renuart said. Last year, there were 7,000
drug-related murders, "mostly cartel on cartel," he said of the
illegal drug trafficking operations.
"We're working aggressively to build interagency capacity to
help Mexico deal with this," Renuart said. "Especially in the local
police and governments, there is an element of corruption that is
significant and is the means by which the cartels influence the
government to leave them alone. There is a substantial effort by
the Mexican government to replace them, but it takes time."
More and more, Northcom is working with Mexican servicemembers
sent to replace Mexican law enforcement officers along the border,
he said. Working with the Mexican military, Northcom's work
resulted in more than 40 prosecutions in the past two years for
people trafficking weapons, including .50-caliber weapons and
rocket-propelled grenades, from the United States into Mexico,
Renuart said.
"This is a hemispheric problem, and something we need to
continue to work at," he said.