How America defends itself

General Victor E. Renuart, Jr., gave a speech at the Brookings Institute about how the United States has restructured its homeland security and defense system for the 21st century. General Renuart is the commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, and the United States Northern Command, or NORTHCOM.

Both NORAD and NORTHCOM work to establish a unity of command for homeland defense. NORAD is a joint organization with Canada that monitors the airspace in North America. NORTHCOM monitors the domains of sea, land, air, space, and cyberspace in North America and works with 50 states and 60 federal agencies to enforce homeland security.

NORTHCOM was created after 9/11, and works not only to protect and defend North America from foreign attacks, but also to respond to domestic crises such as fires and hurricanes. NORTHCOM also works with Mexico in helping to combat narco-terrorism. We don’t just command and control, said General Renuart, “we also collaborate and communicate…with multiple services and with the National Guard Bureau.”