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# Active duty Army general nominated to lead Northern Command

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim GreenhillNational Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON,  Va. - An active duty Army general has been nominated to lead Northern  Command.

Army  Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby Jr. was nominated to lead the Colorado Springs, Colo.,  based command and its sister North American Aerospace Defense Command,  Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced Tuesday.

The  combatant command’s fifth commander, Jacoby would replace Navy Adm. James  Winnefeld, who has been nominated as the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs  of Staff.

The  National Guard supports all the combatant commanders, and it has a particularly  close relationship with NORTHCOM, where more than 40 full-time Guard members  serve.

“Simply  said, we could not do our missions without the National Guard,” Winnefeld told  the House Armed Services Committee in March, mentioning the Guard 15 times in a  15-page statement.

Founded  in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, NORTHCOM conducts homeland defense, civil  support and security cooperation to defend and secure the United States and its  interests.

NORAD,  its 53-year-old sister command, conducts aerospace warning, aerospace control  and maritime warning in the defense of North America.

The  National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 says that a NORTHCOM deputy  commander must be a National Guard general officer unless the commander is a  National Guard general.

NORTHCOM’s  deputy commander is Army Lt. Gen. Frank Grass of the Missouri Army National Guard.  His predecessor was Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, the former chief of the  National Guard Bureau.

“I’m  ... very encouraged by the strong partnership we have with the National Guard;  they are essential to operational success across the full spectrum of our  missions,” Winnefeld told Congress in March. “On any given day, the number of  Guardsmen in our headquarters is around 100.

“The  Army National Guard provides the bulk of personnel for air defense capabilities  protecting our nation’s capital. ... They provide all of the manning at our  ground-based interceptor sites in support of missile defense. They are also  currently developing additional capabilities to take on a much larger role in  support of consequence management in the aftermath of chemical, biological,  radiological or nuclear attack. ...

“The  Air National Guard provides the majority of NORAD’s operational force for air  sovereignty alert missions.”

NORTHCOM  and the National Guard Bureau have been preparing dual status commanders who  can command either National Guard or federal forces for support of civil  authorities in the wake of natural or manmade domestic disasters.

NORTHCOM  hosted adjutants general from the 54 states and territories at the National  Guard Bureau Senior Leader Conference in October, and Winnefeld has joined  Council of Governors meetings. The bipartisan council was included in the 2008  NDAA to advise Panetta, the Homeland Security secretary and the White House  Homeland Security Council on National Guard matters.

Jacoby’s  33-year career since graduation from the United States Military Academy at West  Point has included serving as commanding general, Multinational Corps – Iraq.  He is currently director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of  Staff.

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