The pros and cons of the Northern Command

¶ … Northcom

The United States Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, was created to enhance homeland security. It is part of the U.S. military, and considered a Unified Combatant Command, which is a part of the Department of Defense (Bolkcom, 2005; Cronen, 2009;). The task of NORTHCOM is to provide support for civil authorities through the use of the military. This is done throughout the United States, but also in other countries where the U.S. has a national interest. These countries include Mexico and Canada. The air, sea, and land approaches to these countries, as well as the air, sea, and land approaches to the lower 48 and other U.S. territories (such as Alaska) also fall under the protection of NORTHCOM (Cecchine, 2004; Wormuth & Witkowsky, 2008).

The creation of NORTHCOM officially came about in late April of 2002. Then-President George W. Bush created it as part of a Unified Command Plan that was designed and put in place in light of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 (Bolkcom, 2005). The official beginning of operations for NORTHCOM was October 1, 2002 (Bolkcom, 2005; Cecchine, 2004). At that point, the organization began its official mission and began working toward fulfilling all that it was designed to do. Some of the work that NORTHCOM has done over the years has changed, as well, because it has grown and learned as an organization. That has made it stronger and better, which has also allowed it to have more of an opportunity to truly protect the country and its residents.

Because of the Posse Comitatus Act, there is a limit to the powers that NORTHCOM has (Cutler, 2011; Miller, 2008). There are legal limitations as to what the military can do in order to support civilian law enforcement, for example, but there are a few exceptions to the rules, as well. National emergencies that are either man-made or natural are among those exceptions, as is the threat of nuclear warfare or power by another country or by a person or group within the United States. At that point the Air Forces Northern National Security Emergency Preparedness Directorate will come into play, and all other regulations will have to take a "back seat" while the emergency is dealt with accordingly (United, 2007; U.S., 2009; Whitley, 2009; Wormuth & Witkowsky, 2008).

The Creation of NORTHCOM

The tragic events of September 11, 2001 polarized the entire country and united the American people, even briefly, against terrorism. It was clear that something had to be done to allow more of a response from the military after a terrorism event, because the help and support would be needed. Since the country had not experienced anything like September 11th in a very long time, it was unprepared for the devastation that took place. It was not that there were not people available to help the injured and secure the area, but being able to use the military to restore order and help out the local law enforcement would have been a much better choice. There was some time to decide how that should be addressed, and then NORTHCOM was created by then-President Bush in order to ensure that people injured and displayed in the aftermath of future man-made and natural disasters would have more assistance in the form of the military.

NORTHCOM was not the only option considered, of course, but it was the one that made the most logical sense. The power of the President to use the military in this way is still very carefully controlled, because there is no need to provide the President with too much power over the military or anything else in the country (Whitley, 2009; Wormuth & Witkowsky, 2008). It is very important to have the military available, however, when there are serious and unexpected issues that occur. These kinds of issues would include terrorist activity like September 11, 2001, but also natural disasters such as the levy breaches that flooded New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The creation of NORTHCOM was very important to the American people, so that they could have some extra protection when things went wrong and they needed the government and law enforcement to help them and their communities.

NORTHCOM's Mission

Like any department created by the government, NORTHCOM has a mission. Based on the Unified Command Plan that was used to create it, the mission of NORTHCOM is to provide military assistance to civil authorities and law enforcement, including any operations undertake for the management of consequences of a natural or man-made disaster (National, 2004; Wormuth & Witkowsky, 2008). In order to do this, NORTHCOM has to be directed by either the Secretary of Defense or the President (Bolkcom, 2005. Additionally, the mission of NORTHCOM is to conduct operations that will prevent, deter, and defeat threats that are brought against the United States. If there is aggression that is aimed at the U.S., its interests, or its territories, NORTHCOM has the authority to step in and do something about that in order to defuse the situation (Bolkcom, 2005). That is a different part of the mission, and one that many people do not realize.

In other words, most people who are aware of NORTHCOM think of it only as a military operation or a defense operation that comes into play when something has happened and a disaster has already occurred. However, one thing that NORTHCOM does and that others often do not hear about and are not aware of is provide safety and security through the diffusing and deterring of threats. Some of the issues that appear in the news, when the public finds out about a major terrorist threat that was averted, are related to the work of NORTHCOM. Its mission is not complicated, but it is one that has to be taken very seriously because its mission is a large part of the way the country is protected. Without proper protection, the country is vulnerable to attacks such as September 11, 2001. The existence of NORTHCOM does not guarantee that there will never be another terrorist event in the United States, but it does go a long way toward protecting the American people from harm.

Strategy and Planning

There was much strategy and planning that went into NORTHCOM, and the organization still plans and strategizes frequently in order to remain steps ahead of those who would threaten the country. There are times when it is impossible to avoid a threat (such as one that is natural and not man-made). In those cases, individuals who are in harm's way will need as much protection as possible. Once the threat has passed, those same individuals will also need shelter, food, and the basics. They may need medical treatment, and it will be important to determine whether they need to reach out to loved ones who may be worried about them. All of those kinds of after-the-fact issues have to be part of the strategy and planning of NORTHCOM. There are currently 15 National Planning Scenarios (Cutler, 2011). NORTHCOM must be ready and able to respond to each one of them appropriately, whenever and wherever they occur. That can require a lot of planning and training.

Concept plans that are designed for defense support of civil authorities have been created by NORTHCOM (Cutler, 2011). These plans are classified, because it would be too easy for those plans to be thwarted or even completely derailed if they were well-known. The plans must remain out of the hands of terrorists, and even well-meaning civilians could pose a problem by trying to help and actually getting in the way. It is not hard to do more harm than good when one does not understand the real issues at hand. By having NORTHCOM's plans carefully protected, and by practicing and training often, it is possible for the government and law enforcement to work together to better protect the citizens of the United States. This is true for overarching plans that affect the entire United States, and for smaller plans that are more concentrated and focused on specific regions or cities.

Organizational Structure

The organizational structure of NORTHCOM is relatively uncomplicated. Currently, the home base is at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado (Bolkcom, 2005; Cutler, 2011). That is also the home base for NORAD, and the two share the base. Ralph Eberhart was the first NORTHCOM commander, but Charles H. Jacoby, Jr. currently holds that title. The headquarters for NORTHCOM have nearly 1,200 members, and that includes both those in uniform and those who are civilians, but few of them are permanently assigned to the base or to NORTHCOM itself (United, 2007; Wormuth & Witkowsky, 2008). Members from any and every military branch can be assigned to NORTHCOM, and that occurs on an as-needed basis to make sure the mission is completed (Whitley, 2009; Wormuth & Witkowsky, 2008). While that means that many different people have access to NORTHCOM information, very few have any access to anything that would be considered classified. That lets team members come and go while still preserving the safety of important information.

There are several Joint Task Forces that make up the whole of NORTHCOM. These task forces include civil support, an Alaska task force, a North task force, Joint Forces Command, and the task force from the Capital Region (Wormuth & Witkowsky, 2008). Army, Air Force, and Fleet Forces are all included, as well (Bolkcom, 2005; Wormuth & Witkowsky, 2008). That allows for NORTHCOM to draw from all different branches of the military and all different kinds of people, which means that the organization can get what it needs during a crisis or even during times of peace when its mission needs to be completed. Having the opportunity to draw from many different areas is significant because it allows for the strengths of the different military branches and the people within those branches to be utilized as needed and in the best way possible.

Domestic Operations

There are extensive intelligence operations on the domestic level that are operated by NORTHCOM (Bolkcom, 2005; U.S., 2009). It both shares and receives information from law enforcement on federal, state, and local levels. Some of the agencies that maintain offices at NORTHCOM and get briefings from that organization on a daily basis include the NGA, the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and the DIA (Bolkcom, 2005; National, 2004; United, 2007). One of the things NORTHCOM does to ensure that its domestic operations go well is to engage in joint training operations with other agencies. These can include FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, but may also include law enforcement agencies (Bolkcom, 2005). Federal and state agencies are most commonly worked with, but even local law enforcement agencies can work with NORTHCOM.

That is especially significant in places where there are serious risks, such as along hurricane-prone areas of the country or in border towns where there may be significant numbers of illegal activities taking place (i.e. guns, drug-running, etc.). NORTHCOM has a large area to cover, but the number of employees and the cohesive nature of working with other agencies can help greatly with that. While the organization absolutely cannot be everywhere all the time, NORTHCOM is able to do what it does because of its hard work and diligence, along with its ties with other agencies that can report to it if there is suspicious activity or something of which it should be aware. Most of the work that is done by NORTHCOM is not even seen by anyone else, and that is the way it should be. Too much of a presence could make civilians nervous and make law enforcement feel as though the federal government is trying to take over their area of interest.

Area(s) of Responsibility

The area that NORTHCOM covers encompasses the entire contiguous United States (Bolkcom, 2005). The land, air, and sea approaches to the U.S. are also covered, and that includes water out 500 nautical miles (Bolkcom, 2005). Canada and Mexico are also part of the NORTHCOM jurisdiction (Wormuth & Witkowsky, 2008). The Gulf of Mexico, Straits of Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas fall under the jurisdiction of NORTHCOM, as well (Cronen, 2009; Cutler, 2011). The most recent use of NORTHCOM was the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, where ground and air support was provided, along with help with logistical issues (Cutler, 2011). Cleary, NORTHCOM is responsible for a very large area of land, sea, and air, and extensive monitoring of all of that area is required in order to protect the American public.

Having specific areas of responsibility is very important to NORTHCOM. That allows it to do its job, but it also keeps it from interfering with local and state law enforcement. When organizations work together but respect the space carved out by one another, that helps all of the organizations to do the best they can. Where public safety is concerned, doing the best possible job is highly significant not just to the people in the organizations but to the people who are trusting their lives to law enforcement and other organizations that have sworn to protect them and the country from harm. Areas of responsibility also allow individuals and organizations to develop stronger areas of expertise, and that means a safer and better environment for everyone involved.

Related Legislation

The Posse Comitatus Act was designed to allow the military to help in civilian endeavors when there was a disaster - either man-made or natural, but there were heavy restrictions on what the military could do (Bolkcom, 2005). That prevented NORTHCOM from getting involved in some cases where its involvement would have been beneficial. In 2006 the Military Commissions Act was created, and it removed a large number of the restrictions that were seen in the Posse Comitatus Act (U.S., 2009; Whitley, 2009). Despite that, however, June 2008 brought another change when the U.S. Supreme Court determined that a significant part of the Military Commissions Act was unacceptable and had to be struck down because it did not follow the Constitution (Whitley, 2009). Many bills that have been passed in the past have met the same fate.

Other related legislation includes the Insurrection Act and the John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007, the latter of which nullified much of the former, but was required to be amended the following year (Cronen, 2009; Whitley, 2009). October of 2008 also marked the first time in history that an active military unit was permanently assigned to NORTHCOM. It is currently called the CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force, and is federally-regulated and on-call for man-made and natural disasters and emergencies, including attacks of terrorism (Whitley, 2009; Wormuth & Witkowsky, 2008). It is likely that there will be even more legislation involving NORTHCOM in the future, because there are always changes and adjustments being made when it comes to military operations and the regulations that surround them.

The Need for NORTHCOM

Is there a true need for NORTHCOM? That depends on the person who is asked the question, of course. Some people are not even aware of NORTHCOM, what it is, or what it does. In the weeks and months immediately following September 11, 2001, people were more focused on what the government was doing to protect the country and its citizens. Many of them lived in fear of another attack, and they assumed that the country was no longer safe. In order to better protect the citizens, and in order to help them feel safer and more secure, NORTHCOM came about. The organization was not created just as a knee-jerk reaction, though, nor was it designed solely to make people feel safe. The goal was to actually improve the safety and security of the country. As to whether it was actually needed and/or whether it is doing its job, there have not been any more acts of terrorism on U.S. soil. However, there is an argument as to whether NORTHCOM is the cause of that, or whether the security of the country overall has simply been stepped up, making terrorist activity more difficult.

The need for NORTHCOM may be up for debate, but there is no doubt that then-President Bush acted quickly in developing an organization that would be ready if and when something else went wrong. Naturally, preventing another terrorist attack is the main goal. That is the only way to ensure that there will be no casualties from such an activity. However, if it is not possible to completely prevent that kind of problem the next best thing is to ensure that the country is ready to respond quickly when something occurs. Even without another terrorist attack about which to worry, there are still other types of disasters to which NORTHCOM may need to respond. Natural disasters are included in this, because they can be predicted only up to a point. For example, people can tell residents of an area that the hurricane is coming, but they cannot predict exactly what will happen with that event. New Orleans actually fared will through Katrina - until the levies were breached.