Introducing NORTHCOM
Greyhawk
The military response to Hurricane Katrina will offer the first operational test of the newest Unified Command.
In the US Military, Unified Commands are the agencies responsible for command, control, and coordination efforts between the various branches of service. The Unified Commands exercise authority over military ops in specified geographical areas of responsibitlity - EUCOM covers the European and African theaters, PACOM the Pacific, SOUTHCOM most areas of the western hemisphere south of the US, and CENTCOM the highly visible middle eastern area including Iraq and Afghanistan.
NORTHCOM is the junior sibling of the crowd. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, NORTHCOM was formed with a goal of coordinating military efforts in homeland defense.
The historical insularity of the U.S. has given way to an era of new vulnerabilities, and enemies will strike the U.S. in new and unsuspecting ways. Northern Command takes the homeland defense missions being performed by other Department of Defense organizations and puts them under a single command.
Aside from human threat, there's an obvious civil service mission that NORTHCOM can fulfill (emphasis added below):
In addition to defending the nation, U.S. Northern Command provides defense support of civil authorities in accordance with U.S. laws and as directed by the President or Secretary of Defense. Military assistance is always in support of a lead federal agency, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Military civil support includes domestic disaster relief operations that occur during fires, hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. Support also includes counter-drug operations and consequence management assistance, such as would occur after a terrorist event employing a weapon of mass destruction.
Generally, an emergency must exceed the management capabilities of local, state and federal agencies before U.S. Northern Command becomes involved. In providing civil support, the command operates through subordinate Joint Task Forces.
Today would be that day, and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina NORTHCOM gets its first large, operational test. The Colorado Springs Gazette (feature currently not available on line):
Military Moving In To Lend A Hand
NorthCom will organize task force
By News Services
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon’s U.S. Northern Command plans to set up a task force to help federal disaster authorities bring relief by military aircraft and amphibious vehicles to communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
The task force plans to have its headquarters at Camp Shelby, Miss., said Michael Kucharek, a spokesman for Colorado Springs-based Northern Command. It has established Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., as a staging area for supplies and personnel.
The task force will assist federal disaster-relief authorities primarily with aircraft and other logistical support. The Federal Emergency Management Agency requested it, Kucharek said.
The command already has sent two helicopters and crews that will enable federal disaster experts to assess the extent of the damage in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
More than 9,000 National Guard members have been called to duty for hurricane relief work in those three states, Kucharek said.
Late Tuesday, the Pentagon ordered five Navy ships and eight maritime rescue teams to the Gulf Coast to bolster relief operations.
One Navy amphibious assault ship, the Bataan, with six Sea Stallion and Sea Hawk helicopters that could be used for search and rescue missions, was en route from Texas. Four other vessels from Norfolk, Va., were expected to sail within 24 hours and take four days to reach the gulf, Northern Command Kucharek said.
The ships will carry food, fuel, medical and construction supplies, as well as hovercraft that can be used for evacuation and search-andrescue missions.
Also Tuesday, the Coast Guard called back to duty 500 reservists as part of the hurricane response. “The biggest challenge is getting enough resources — especially helicopters and small boats — to the area for the rescue work we have to do,” said Lt. Gene Maestas, a Coast Guard spokesman in Washington.
NORTHCOM has more on their home page, and you'll find updates there as time permits.
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