FORT SAM HOUSON, Texas " “We measure our success on the success of other government agencies " local, state and federal " and we feel pretty good that we’re linked in with all of those partners,” said Lt. Gen. Guy Swan III, the commanding general of U.S. Army North, while speaking with a packed house July 29 during the Aspen Security Forum, at the Aspen Institute, in Aspen, Colo.
Swan served as a member of a 3-person panel discussion titled: “The war abroad and the threat at home.” Among the highlights was a discussion on the Department of Defense’s " and Army North and U.S. Northern Command’s " role in homeland security.
He was joined on the panel by retired Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, who serves as a special assistant to the President for Afghanistan and Pakistan, along with Dr. Paul Stockton, the assistant secretary of defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs, Department of Defense. Kimberly Dozier, from the Associated Press, served as the panel moderator.
The panel was one of the highlights of the four-day forum, July 27-30, at the Aspen Institute, which is nestled in the mountain slopes of Aspen. Events such as this are important, said Swan, because they provide an opportunity to discuss Army North’s mission, as well as how it supports U.S. Northern Command and the Department of Defense, with an audience that may not otherwise have visibility on the command’s talents and resources.
“These are opinion makers here,” said Swan. “These are people who will go back to the government, industry, academia, and they are going to influence policy decisions. We will execute whatever the policies are. If you are not giving our view of things, then those policy makers are not getting the full imprint that they need to make good decisions. I think we have an obligation to engage.”
He said it is important to have a voice at the table and to tell the Army North story " both inside the Army and the Department of Defense " and also with the general public.
During his introduction, Swan told the gathered attendees that he commands the land component command of Northern Command, which was one of many organizations created in the aftermath of 9-11, along with the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center. The command’s mission is somewhat unique in that its focus is on the homeland, unlike most other commands that focus on Iraq, Afghanistan or Africa.
Among the command’s responsibilities, he explained, is providing the land component support to Northern Command for homeland defense and homeland security responsibilities, and providing military support to other federal agencies, such as FEMA, in a disaster. The command also provides military support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Border Patrol for border security, and it provides training and assistance support to the security forces of Mexico in the fight against transnational criminal organizations and drug cartels.
“Mexico is something that we ought not to take our eye off of,” said Swan.” The strength of the transnational criminal groups, the cartels, is very disturbing " and even more so because it’s on our southern border. Part of our military-to-military mission within the command is to work with our military counterparts and other security forces in Mexico to compliment what we do with the border patrol, the (Center for Domestic Preparedness) and others.
Other aspects of the command’s responsibilities include maintaining trained and ready response forces for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosive weapons-of-mass-destruction attacks or disasters, in addition to defending the homeland against missile attacks, providing maritime and air defense of North America, and various other missions.
“We’re very concerned about protecting our resources so we can do all the things we need to do to support other government agencies,” said Swan.
Ultimately, said Stockton, Department of Defense resources are prepared to provide Defense Support to Civil Authority in the case of any man-made or natural disaster.
“The Department of Defense will always be in support of the lead federal agencies that are responsible for such domestic events,” said Stockton. “… We’re in terrific shape in the Department of Defense to support FEMA and DHS for what I call normal disasters " the kind of disasters that happen every year or every couple of years.”
He said the Department of Defense is also honing its skills for the possibility of facing complex catastrophes, such as was practiced in the recent National Level Exercise 11, in which Northern Command and Army North both were key participants.
The exercise scenario featured a 7.7 earthquake along the New Madrid fault, which falls along the Mississippi River. The 7.7 earthquake typifies what he terms as the challenges of complex catastrophes.
“First, the magnitude,” he said, because “it’s so much bigger than anything we’ve faced " way beyond Hurricane Katrina " over 100,000 casualties in the scenario.”
It would be a complex catastrophe due to the effects of cascading failures of critical infrastructure.
Army North is situated to provide assistance through its 10 direct coordinating elements, which are co-located within the 10 FEMA regions.
“We are embedded with FEMA across the country,” said Swan. “So this time of the year, especially with hurricanes, we’re joined at the hip with our team of partners.
He said units such as Army North, and its military partner units throughout Northern Command and the Department of Defense, bring a wealth of knowledge to the fight.
“The conflicts that we’ve been involved in over the past 10 years has built up a knowledge base within our armed forces on planning, training and equipping for a variety of threats,” said Swan. “We often find ourselves in a capacity building role with our federal partners. … We play an advise and assist role, just as we do overseas, with our own federal partners.”
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