# United States Northern Command

The United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for non-military authorities in the U.S., and protecting the territory and national interests of the United States within the continental United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, The Bahamas, and the air, land and sea approaches to these areas. It is the U.S. military command which, if applicable, would be the primary defender against an invasion of the U.S.
USNORTHCOM was created on 25 April 2002 when President George W. Bush approved a new Unified Command Plan, following the September 11 attacks. USNORTHCOM went operational on 1 October 2002.

## Creation

USNORTHCOM was established on 25 April 2002 when President George W. Bush approved a new Unified Command Plan, and attained initial operating capability on 1 October 2002.

## Mission

According to the UCP, Northern Command's mission is 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 and,
* As directed by the President or Secretary of Defense provide military assistance to non-military authorities including consequence management operations

## Area of responsibility

USNORTHCOM's Area of Responsibility (AOR) includes air, land and sea approaches and encompasses the continental United States, Canada, Mexico and the surrounding water out to approximately 500 nautical miles (930 km). It also includes the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida, portions of the Caribbean region to include The Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The commander of USNORTHCOM is responsible for theater security cooperation with Canada, Mexico, and The Bahamas. In May 2011, NORTHCOM was mobilized in the wake of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to provide air, ground, and logistical support. In October 2014, NORTHCOM took administrative control of Alaskan Command.

## Organizational structure
### Headquarters

Commander, U.S. Northern Command is concurrently Commander of the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The two are co-located at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. General Ralph Eberhart was the first CDRUSNORTHCOM.
USNORTHCOM headquarters has approximately 1,200 uniformed and civilian staff. In its first period of organising in 2002–03, one priority was to hire civilian staff which could help respond to a Weapons of Mass Destruction attack and to coordinate disaster recovery.

### Component commands

| Command | Acronym | Commander | Established | Headquarters | Subordinate Commands |
| United States Army North Joint Force Land Component Command | ARNORTH | Lt General Allan Pepin | 11 June 1946 | JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Texas | Civil Support Training Activity Task Force 46 Task Force 51 Task Force 76 323rd Army Band 505th Military Intelligence Brigade 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) 377th Theater Sustainment Command |
| Marine Corps Forces North | MARFORNORTH | Lt General Roberta L. Shea | 16 December 1946 | Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia | II Marine Expeditionary Force Marine Corps Security Force Regiment Chemical Biological Incident Response Force Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group Headquarters & Service Battalion |
| United States Naval Forces Northern Command Joint Force Maritime Component Command | NAVNORTH | Admiral Daryl L. Caudle | 1 January 1906 | Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Virginia | United States 2nd Fleet Naval Air Force Atlantic Naval Surface Forces Atlantic Submarine Force Atlantic Navy Expeditionary Combat Command Navy Munitions Command Atlantic |
| First Air Force / Air Forces Northern Joint Force Air Component Command | 1 AF (AFNORTH) | Lt Gen M. Luke Ahmann | 1 November 2007 | Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida | Eastern Air Defense Sector Western Air Defense Sector 601st Air Operations Center Air Force Rescue Coordination Center Air Forces Northern National Security Emergency Preparedness Directorate Civil Air Patrol |

### Subordinate unified commands

| Emblem | Command | Acronym | Commander | Established | Headquarters | Subordinate Commands |
| | Alaskan Command | ALCOM | Lt General Case Cunningham, USAF | 15 November 1945 | Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska | 11th Airborne Division Eleventh Air Force There is no U.S. Navy component of ALCOM. The United States Coast Guard's 17th District works closely with ALCOM and de facto acts as its maritime component. |
| | Special Operations Command North | SOCNORTH | Colonel Matthew P. Tucker, USA | 5 November 2013 | Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado | |

### Standing joint task force

| Command | Acronym | Commander | Established | Headquarters |
| Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region | JFHQ-NCR | Major General Trevor J. Bredenkamp, USA | 22 September 2004 | Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington D.C. |
| Joint Task Force – Civil Support | JTF-CS | Colonel Tanya S. McGonegal, ARNG | October 1999 | Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia |
| Joint Task Force North | JTF-North | Major General Henry S. Dixon, ARNG | November 1989 | Fort Bliss, Texas |

## Commanders

The commander of United States Northern Command is a four-star general or admiral in the United States Armed Forces who serves as the head of all U.S. military forces within the command's geographical area of responsibility. The commander of U.S. Northern Command concurrently serves as the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and is the head of all United States and Canadian joint aerospace military operational forces, stationed within the Northern American territories. The commander of U.S. Northern Command is nominated for appointment by the President of the United States and must be confirmed by the United States Senate. The commander of U.S. Northern Command typically serves for two years.
Note: The National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 stipulates that at least one deputy commander of USNORTHCOM be a National Guard general officer unless the commander is already such an officer.
| No. | Commander | Commander | Term | Term | Term | Service branch |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | Service branch |
| 1 | | Eberhart, Ralph E.General Ralph E. Eberhart (born 1946) | 22 October 2002 | 5 November 2004 | 2 years, 14 days | U.S. Air Force |
| 2 | | Keating, Timothy J.Admiral Timothy J. Keating (born 1948) | 5 November 2004 | 23 March 2007 | 2 years, 138 days | U.S. Navy |
| 3 | | Renuart, Victor E. Jr.General Victor E. Renuart Jr. (born 1949) | 23 March 2007 | 19 May 2010 | 3 years, 57 days | U.S. Air Force |
| 4 | | Winnefeld, James A. Jr.Admiral James A. Winnefeld Jr. (born 1956) | 19 May 2010 | 3 August 2011 | 1 year, 76 days | U.S. Navy |
| 5 | | Jacoby, Charles H. Jr.General Charles H. Jacoby Jr. (born 1954) | 3 August 2011 | 5 December 2014 | 3 years, 124 days | U.S. Army |
| 6 | | Gortney, William E.Admiral William E. Gortney (born 1955) | 5 December 2014 | 13 May 2016 | 1 year, 160 days | U.S. Navy |
| 7 | | Robinson, Lori J.General Lori J. Robinson (born 1958/1959) | 13 May 2016 | 24 May 2018 | 2 years, 11 days | U.S. Air Force |
| 8 | | O'Shaughnessy, Terrence J.General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy (born 1964/1965) | 24 May 2018 | 20 August 2020 | 2 years, 73 days | U.S. Air Force |
| 9 | | VanHerck, Glen D.General Glen D. VanHerck (born 1962) | 20 August 2020 | 5 February 2024 | 3 years, 169 days | U.S. Air Force |
| 10 | | Guillot, GregoryGeneral Gregory M. Guillot | 5 February 2024 | Incumbent | 1 year, 42 days | U.S. Air Force |

## Planning and strategy

Northern Command has created several classified "concept plans" (e.g. "Defense Support of Civil Authorities") that are intended to address the 15 National Planning Scenarios that NORTHCOM must be prepared to respond to.
However, in 2012, the GAO found that the national strategy to defend the United States is several years out of date.
On 20 January 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order instructing the Secretary of Defense to give Northern Command the mission to "seal the borders and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States," requiring the secretary to revise the Unified Command Plan within 10 days in accordance with the order, and the commander of Northern Command to present a plan within 30 days on how NORTHCOM will achieve this mission.

## Domestic operations and training

NORTHCOM operates extensive domestic intelligence operations which both share and receive information from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and other agencies maintain offices at NORTHCOM and receive daily intelligence briefings. The total of 14 agencies with representatives at NORTHCOM in December 2002 included the State Department, NASA, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Northern Command has completed several joint training exercises with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In Exercise Vigilant Shield 2008, Northern Command, Pacific Command, the Department of Homeland Security, and numerous law enforcement agencies across the U.S. conducted exercises to test their "response abilities against a variety of potential threats".
In January 2025 the Northern Command activated military police and combat engineer units from the Army and Marine Corps to support Customs and Border Patrol on the U.S. southern border.

## Related legislation

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 and subsequent Department of Defense policy constrains any member of the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, or Marine Corps, and the National Guard under federal authority from domestically intervening in a law enforcement capacity on United States soil. Several exceptions to the law have been used in the past, including protecting the citizens' constitutional rights in the absence of state and/or local assistance, such as protecting the Little Rock Nine students in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, and using the Insurrection Act to quell civil disorders, such as the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
The Military Commissions Act of 2006 lifted many restrictions placed on the military to support non-military authorities by the Posse Comitatus Act, however the United States Supreme Court ruled in June 2008 that significant portions of the MCA were unconstitutional. The "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" H.R. 5122 (2006) effectively nullified the limits of the Insurrection Act when it was passed; however, the bill was amended in 2008.
On 1 October 2008, the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team was assigned to U.S. Northern Command, marking the first time an active unit had been given a dedicated assignment to Northern Command. The force will be known for the first year as a CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force, and will serve as an on-call federal response force for terrorist attacks and other natural or manmade emergencies and disasters.