Dateline: 10/04/02

For the first time since the Revolutionary War, the defense of mainland America is under a single military command as the U.S. Northern Command -- NorthCom -- was activated on Oct. 1 at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

Calling it a ''one-stop shopping'' agency providing military protection of America's borders, skies, coastal waters and continental neighbors, Air Force Gen. Ralph ''Ed'' Eberhart announced the official activation of the Northern Command.

''If it's an external threat coming in, we will have the lead,'' said Gen. Eberhart said. ''If it's internal, we will assist.''

Staffed by only about 500 uniformed military and civilian employees itself, Northern Command will be able to rapidly deploy unlimited numbers of land, air and sea forces from bases of the four military branches and the Coast Guard located within the continental United States. 

The Missions of Northern Command
According the the Department of Defense, the specific missions of Northern Command are to:

• "Conduct operations to deter, prevent, and defeat threats and aggression aimed at the United States, its territories, and interests within the assigned area of responsibility (within 500 miles of all shorelines, all of Canada and Mexico, and parts of the Caribbean); and 
  
  
• "As directed by the President or Secretary of Defense, provide military assistance to civil authorities including consequence management operations. U.S. Northern Command plans, organizes, and executes homeland defense and civil support missions, but has few permanently assigned forces. The command will be assigned forces whenever necessary to execute missions as ordered by the President."
  
  Note: "Consequence management operations" means Northern Command will provide military assistance to local civilian authorities in dealing with terrorist attacks, natural disasters and drug intervention operations. Gen. Eberhart stressed, however, that such military civil assistance is intended to be rare and provided only with the request and approval of civilian federal authorities.

A Direct Result of 9-11
Created as a further homeland security response to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Northern Command's emblem displays three yellow stars honoring the victims and heroes of the attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

General Hopes NorthCom Never Needed
"I'd like to be the Maytag repairman," said Gen. Eberhart, comparing his aspirations for Northern Command to the TV commercial character who is always ready for action, though rarely needed. According to Gen. Eberhart, Northern Command will succeed in its mission only if it is proactively able "to deter, prevent and defeat," terrorist threats, "on the front end."

NorthCom NOT to be a Domestic Military Police Force
Recognizing growing allegations that Americans' Constitutional rights are being carved away in the name of terror-fighting, Gen. Eberhart emphasized that Northern Command would not function as a homeland police force: No armed patrols, spying, searches and seizures or other roles reserved for civilian law enforcement.

Current federal law forbids the use of military personnel as a domestic police force, except under a declaration of martial law. However, Gen. Eberhart added that he ''won't hesitate to propose changes if we see something we think will tie our hands."

Will We be Safer Now?
When if Americans would be safer from terrorist attack as a result of the Northern Command realignment, Gen. Eberhart responded, "They will be just as safe as they are today, and over time, we will be able to measure how much safer."