FORT CARSON, Colo. — The National Guard is a critical contributor to the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Northern Command, Gen. Gregory Guillot told National Guard adjutant generals and senior enlisted leaders from the 50 states, three U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. they gathered in Colorado Springs on October 29.

“The success of NORAD/USNORTHCOM starts and stops with the National Guard,” said Guillot, commander of NORAD and USNORTHCOM. “We rely on the National Guard in all aspects of our missions to defend our homeland, conduct security cooperation activities with allies and partners, and support civil authorities.

“Like you in your states, we’re not particularly focused,” he said. “But everywhere I go, I see seamless integration with the backup component. That will always be the secret sauce that we have that our opponents don’t have.”

NORAD is a binational organization of the United States and Canada responsible for aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for North America. USNORTHCOM plans, organizes, and executes homeland defense and civil support missions, but has few permanently assigned forces.

The National Guard is the primary combat reserve of the Army and Air Force. Because its units are equipped, trained and equipped for the rigors of combat, the Guardsmen are often called upon to work with civil authorities during crises in communities across the United States.

Guillot praised the National Guard for its multistate response, which sent thousands of guardsmen to the Southeast to respond to the devastation left by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The National Guard’s top officer said the Guard’s ability and willingness to assist communities in the wake of disaster is a strategic advantage and deterrent.

“That’s one of the benefits that the National Guard brings,” said Air Force Gen. Steven Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau. “The fact that our rangers work with NORAD/NORTHCOM, FEMA and interagency partners to quickly respond to any type of event that occurs in our nation deters our adversaries from thinking that anything they might do to affect us would have implications on long term.

“The National Guard is 430,000 strong,” he said. “We are deployed in every US zip code to provide support wherever we are needed.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the Department of Defense is FEMA’s largest partner and a force multiplier. She praised the Guard’s ability to quickly activate forces through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.

EMAC helps during states of emergency or governor-declared disasters through a responsive and simple system that allows states to send personnel, equipment and goods to aid in response and recovery efforts in other states.

“The National Guard is so nimble and a critical piece of what we do at FEMA,” Criswell said.

She encouraged the Adjutant General to use EMAC as much as possible.

“It’s faster to get resources where they’re needed as soon as possible,” she said. “Through EMAC, the Garda can help reach the scale of any disaster that overwhelms local response agencies.”

National Guard and NORAD/NORTHCOM leaders discussed key areas of focus on the North American continent, including strengthening interagency and international partnerships, countering unmanned aircraft systems, the strategic importance of the Arctic, defense support for civil authorities and protecting critical infrastructure .

Nordhaus said adjutant generals are the best conduits in their states to make the connections needed at the local level to nurture and establish partnerships with civil authorities.

When the Marshall Fire — the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history — destroyed nearly a thousand homes in north-central Colorado in December 2021, the Colorado National Guard began working even more closely with interagency partners to identify critical infrastructure and examine interdependencies which exists in it.

Army Maj. Gen. Laura Clellan, Colorado’s adjutant general, encouraged her colleagues to do the same in their states.

“It’s really a whole-of-society approach,” Clellan said, “it’s about getting the right people around the table and developing a plan before it’s too late.”

The National Guardsmen also conduct steady-state homeland defense and security operations — an assortment of capabilities that Guillot described as just-in-time and just-in-time.

These include the Aerospace Control Alert mission—a national network of fully loaded aircraft ready to respond to aerial threats or aggression at a moment’s notice, ground-based ICBM defense, civil support teams, counter-narcotics and cyber operations, and the Southwest Border. support.

“Thank you for your contributions to our nation,” Guillot said. “I’m grateful for your commitment to always being ready, always there.”