In the wake of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the national government of the United States advanced the idea of reorganizing the Department of Defense’s Unified Command Plan to include a new joint command with the responsibility for providing defense of the homeland against terrorism and transnational criminal activities. This new command—Northern Command (NORTHCOM)— was established in April 2002 and became operational on October 1, 2002, with headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. The commander of the new organization would also have command responsibilities for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a long established binational command operated in conjunction with Canadian Defense Forces, with air defense responsibilities for North America.

The command takes guidance from the National Response Framework and Joint Publications 3-26 ...