This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
But in extreme circumstances, local agencies might require DoD ca- pabilities to help their citizens. “In the mid-2000s, we found all


federal agencies wanted to assist local communities, but the response needed improved coordination. This is where NORTHCOM has been able to help,” says Todorov. Follow- ing the 2007 Minneapolis I-35W bridge collapse over the Missis- sippi River, rescuers on site needed salvage divers. “We provided DoD experts in that area,” says Todorov. NORTHCOM also has search-and- rescue capabilities through partner agencies that have proven their met- tle with local authorities. NORTH- COM has provided helicopter and other rescue platforms. “Support


(DSCC). Normally, Title 10, or ac- tive and reserve component units, runs a parallel track to Title 32, or the National Guard realm. State governors dispatch the National Guard while Title 10 combatant commands determine their unit movement. In a large-scale disas- ter or an event that has required broad, uniformed support, Title 10 and Title 32 units have come under separate command chains. Until now.


“DSCC is a [unified] effort. One commander, ideally a National Guard officer, will take the lead. A Title 10 deputy and Title 10 staff will support him or her,” explains Todorov. The concept has been tested in earthquake scenarios as well as at least one real-world event. A dual- status commander and staff support- ed the 2010 Boy Scout Jamboree, an event of more than 40,000 people at Virginia’s sprawling Fort A.P. Hill. “DSCC affords an interoperability between U.S. units that will only im-


NORTHCOM mission. For example, U.S. Army North, based at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, handles NORTH- COM’s land component. “Army North is fully committed to homeland defense and providing DoD support to our civilian or other federal partners, but we also work to develop better military relations with our North American partners of Mexico, Canada, and the Baha- mas,” says retired Army Lt. Gen. Guy C. Swan III, former U.S. Army North commander and a former MOAA board member. According to Swan, Army North


provides command and control and logistical sustainment for federal military forces conducting home- land defense or Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) mis- sions. While it provides specialized response training to active and re- serve forces for operating in a con- taminated environment, it also can deploy a headquarters anywhere in the U.S. to command forces in response to a disaster and control their efforts. Army North has an Army colonel


NORTHCOM assisted local authorities following the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis in 2007 (leſt). The 2010 National Boy Scout Jamboree (right) was a test of NORTHCOM’s dual-status commander concept.


requests come through us here at NORTHCOM, saving local au- thorities precious time from sifting through myriad DoD entities and partner agencies for the assistance they need,” says Todorov.


A united effort In 2010, NORTHCOM took local support to a new level with the dual-status commander concept


54 MILITARY OFFICER JUNE 2012


prove our response to events on the ground,” says Todorov.


Service components ready Just like U.S. Central Command, U.S. European Command, U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. Southern Command, and others, each service within DoD has a significant pres- ence in the NORTHCOM arena. In fact, they each head up part of the


stationed at each of the 10 FEMA headquarters. They are “indispens- able” to DoD’s conduct of DSCA, says Swan. These defense-coordi- nating officers act on behalf of the defense secretary as the single DoD point of contact in each region. Army North is further supported by Joint Task Force North based in El Paso, Texas, and Joint Task Force Civil Support based at Fort Eustis, Va. “The homeland is a uniquely


complex theater, and our priorities can change in an instant. The mis- sion is very fluid in this theater, and Army North’s focus can shift from planning and training with Mexico or Canada to executing complex sustainment operations after a disaster in the homeland,” says Swan.


PHOTOS: LEFT, SENIOR CHIEF PETTY OFFICER ANDREW MCKASKLE, USN; RIGHT, STAFF SGT. ANDREW OWEN, ARNG


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88