Thursday, May 7, 2009

Will Joint Task Force Become the First North American Police/Military Force?


Joint Task Force North (JTF-N) United States:

Established in September 2004, JTF-N Aids law enforcement agencies protecting U.S. borders. The Fort Bliss, Texas-based unit inherited 15 years of interagency experience from its predecessor JTF-6. Whereas JTF-6 assisted with counter-drug operations on the southern border, JTF-N now has a broader homeland defense focus as it integrates military capabilities with federal, state and local law enforcement. In addition to exercises and planning, JTFN operations include reconnaissance, surveillance, detection, and infrastructure construction missions that often leverage military units training for deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Joint Task Force Alaska (JTF-AK) United States:

JTF-AK is headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, and is tasked to coordinate land defense and DOD support to civil authorities in Alaska.

Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS) United States:

Headquartered at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, this JTF assists the lead federal agency managing the consequences of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive incident in the United States or its territories and possessions. It was established in 1999 under U.S. Joint Forces Command, and its coordination with agencies like FEMA is more mature. The JTF is also working with state National Guard civil support teams as they become operational.

Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region (JFHQ-NCR) United States:

Activated in June 2003- This JTF is located at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. It facilitates planning, training, and exercising among four local service components. Additionally, it coordinates with Coast Guard District 5, the DHS Office of National Capitol Region, and other federal, state, and local agencies to ensure unity of effort in the event of manmade or natural catastrophes.

Joint Interagency Coordination Group (JIACG) United States:

To facilitate interagency relationships, NORTHCOM has liaisons from more than 60 federal and non-federal agencies at Peterson AFB, Colorado. Liaisons provide subject matter expertise and direct lines of communication with their parent organizations. Some non-DOD agencies represented include the Central Intelligence Agency, FAA, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Geological Survey, as well as several Department of Homeland Security (DHS) organizations such as Customs and Border Patrol, FEMA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).18 The JIACG also does focused planning on specific issues with potential nationwide impact. For example, in August 2006, representatives from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) met with members of the JIACG to ensure a mutually supporting effort and eliminate redundancy in responding to potential pandemic flu.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS):

DOD has 65 personnel working in the DHS, and senior officials from both organizations meet daily at the principal and deputy level.20 There are also NORTHCOM personnel assigned to DHS components such as the Defense Coordinating Officers in FEMA regions. Through a memorandum of understanding, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has 20 personnel serving on the NORTHCOM headquarters staff facilitating regular discussions for maritime homeland defense roles and responsibilities.

National Guard Bureau (NGB):

Although the NGB is a DOD organization, most national guard forces report to their state leadership unless federalized. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, NORTHCOM and the NGB took steps to improve coordination with and oversight of National Guard forces serving in state and federal roles. These steps include a formal policy on command, control, and communications; an advisory board to expedite solutions for improving information sharing; and more than 87 NORTHCOM mobile training team visits to demonstrate collaborative tools to the NGB joint operations center and state-level guard headquarters.

National Level Exercises (NLE):

DOD participation in NLEs include exercises that evaluate DOD linkages to homeland security through Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) and homeland defense. NORTHCOM, DOD’s combatant command that has primary responsibility for DSCA, conducts exercises to train and evaluate its DSCA capabilities at the direction of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS). In 2007, for example, exercise Ardent Sentry consisted of scenarios that involved the detonation of a 10-kiloton improvised nuclear device, a hurricane, and several events in Alaska in exercise Northern Edge.23 For NLE 1-08, NORTHCOM and NORAD conducted Vigilant Shield 08 (VS 08) to test the ability of the military to provide DSCA in response to a scenario whose main event was the explosion of radiological dispersion devices in Guam, Oregon, and Arizona. As part of NLE 2- 08, Ardent Sentry 08 tested DOD’s ability to provide DSCA in response to terrorist attacks in the Pacific Northwest and a hurricane striking the mid-Atlantic states.

Upcoming NLE July 2009:

The FEMA factsheet states NLE 09 “will focus on intelligence and information sharing among intelligence and law enforcement communities, and between international, federal, regional, state, tribal, local and private sector participants.” In other words, the exercise will concentrate on surveillance and counter-intelligence targeted at “terrorists” (rightwing extremists) who will – according to the NLE scenario – carry out attacks following a vaguely defined international terrorist event. A FEMA bullet point underscores the need for “counter-terror investigation and law enforcement.” Local law enforcement, through relationships previously established by DHS, the FBI and the CIA, will be on the front lines of this surveillance effort.

International Security Cooperation:

In addition to its homeland defense and civil support missions, the
NORTHCOM area of responsibility includes both Canada and Mexico. As such, NORTHCOM facilitates security cooperation with both nations.


Canada Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2):

In December 2002, Canada and the United States established a Binational Planning Group at NORAD/NORTHCOM headquarters to review theater cooperation in the post 9/11 security environment. The 50-person military team dissolved in May 2006 after submitting a final report with 62 recommendations. Some recommendations, like authority for WMD teams to cross the border, will require legislative action to be effective. However, most, like protocols for information sharing between NORAD, NORTHCOM, and Canada Command, could be orchestrated under existing laws or within NORAD agreement.

In February 2008, military leaders from NORTHCOM and Canada Command agreed to a Civil Assistance Plan. The Civil Assistance Plan “allows the military from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a civil emergency” and is expected to “facilitate military-to-military support of civil authorities once government authorities have agreed on an appropriate response.” NORTHCOM and Canada Command leaders view the agreement as an opportunity to collaboratively synchronize each nation’s military operational plans to support each countries lead federal agencies — the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Public Safety Canada — following events such as “floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and effects of a terrorist attack.”

In addition to coordinating operational plans, the commanders of NORTHCOM and Canada Command and their staffs meet regularly, collaborate on contingency planning, and participate in related annual exercises. Further, Canada has linked some of its exercises with the U.S. National Level Exercise (NLE) schedule. For example, during NLE 2-08, Canadian forces, led by Canada Command, participated in exercise Staunch Maple where they were faced with a mass casualty scenario associated with a simulated explosion and a pandemic flu outbreak aboard a Canadian ship in a Canadian port.

Source:

Homeland Security: Roles and Missions for
United States Northern Command
William Knight
National Defense Fellow
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Updated June 3, 2008

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