| Participants in a civic leader tour hosted by the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command visit the NORAD-USNORTHCOM Command Center at Peterson Air Force Base. |
NORAD, USNORTHCOM host civic leader tour of military installations
April 10 , 2006
By By Sgt. 1st Class Gail Braymen
NORAD-USNORTHCOM Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – From the rocky tunnels of Colorado's Cheyenne Mountain to the sunny runways of Florida's Tyndall Air Force Base, 29 civilian leaders recently took a four-day crash course in military education.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command hosted the group of business and civic leaders on a tour of several military and government organizations in Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Texas.
Two bus tours during the trip gave the group a firsthand view of hurricane damage in New Orleans and the U.S.-Mexico border and ports of entry in El Paso, Texas.
"This particular civic leader tour was designed to educate and inform the civic leaders about USNORTHCOM's and NORAD's critical mission sets, so we selected locations that would show the issues we have with the borders and the challenges NORAD has keeping our airspace safe," said Mike Perini, director of USNORTHCOM and NORAD Public Affairs.
Many of the civic leaders on the tour hold public service and homeland security positions.
"I have responsibility for planning for security and emergency response for [Colorado Springs Utilities], and then I also play a key role in our community with planning for city and regional emergency reponse," said Kathy Borja, enterprise risk manager for Colorado Springs Utilities. "So I was really interested to see what the lessons learned were from both 9-11 and Katrina and Rita, and to see how [military and civil organizations] are ... coordinating and collaborating."
Participating in the NORAD-USNORTHCOM civic leader tour gave insight into the military's role in assisting civil authorities, said Vernon Herron, director of Public Safety and the Office of Homeland Security in Prince George's County, Md.
"I thought it was critical that I learn more about our military's involvement when it comes to homeland security and supporting local government," Herron said. "I feel confident that if another Katrina occurred, or something similar to that, the United States military would be there to support us."