United States Northern Command

[Nic Name]

The shield, or emblem, of the new Northern Command is shown in a handout graphic released Monday, Sept. 30, 2002. The shield consists of an eagle overlaying a map of the United States with three gold stars near the East Coast, representing the locations where people were killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks: the Pentagon in Washington; the World Trade Center towers in New York; and a field in southern Pennsylvania where a fourth hijacked airliner crashed after passengers rose up against their attackers. There are five stars above the eagle's head symbolizing the four branches of the armed forces and the Coast Guard. The eagle carries 13 arrows in its right talon, symbolizing the original 13 colonies. In its left talon is an olive branch symbolizing peace. The eagle is looking to the left, showing that while the nation is prepared for war, it is concerned foremost with peace. (AP Photo/Northern Command Handout)

Emphasis added by me.


U.S. Northern Command to Debut in October 1, 2001

At a Pentagon press briefing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called the plan the most sweeping set of changes since the unified command system was set up in 1946.

"(The plan) realigns and streamlines U.S. military structure to better address 21st century threats," Rumsfeld said. For the first time, commanders' areas of operations cover the entire Earth.

The biggest change is U.S. Northern Command. The new command will stand up Oct. 1, 2002, at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. The NORTHCOM commander will be responsible for homeland defense and also serve as head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a U.S.-Canada command. The current NORAD commander is also the commander of U.S. Space Command, also at Peterson. That command will not go away, but it will have a separate four-star officer heading it.

NORTHCOM's area of operations will include the United States, Canada, Mexico, parts of the Caribbean and the contiguous waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

http://www.northcom.mil/

http://www.norad.mil/