USNORTHCOM is headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, CO. It was established in 2002 after the attacks on the World Trade Center to aid in Homeland Defense.  While most may know about NORTHCOM’s homeland defense many may not know that also provides military assistance to civil authorities when needed.

According the USNORTHCOM website, their civil support mission “includes domestic disaster relief operations that occur during fires, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. Support also includes counter-drug operations and managing the consequences of a terrorist event employing a weapon of mass destruction. In providing civil support, USNORTHCOM generally operates through established Joint Task Forces subordinate to the command. An emergency must exceed the capabilities of local, state and federal agencies before USNORTHCOM becomes involved. In most cases, support will be limited, localized and specific.”   

 Military and civilian personnel from US Army North (under the command of USNORTHCOM) were recently deployed to southern California to aid with the fires with operational and firefighting support.  According to the NORTHCOM website, the deployed personnel and equipment included facilities support, asset coordination support, air firefighting support, and ground firefighting support.

USNORTHCOM’s personnel work both in Cheyenne Mountain Air Station (NORAD) and/or at Peterson AFB.