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NorthCom chief: We are ready for WMD attack

The command charged with defense of the U.S. homeland is “trained, ready and prepared” to do so, and there is no “appalling gap” in its ability to respond to a domestic weapons of mass destruction attack, the command’s top officer told Congress on Wednesday.

“Let me assure you ... there are plans and arrangements in state and federal capabilities today that are ready to respond,” said Air Force Gen. Victor Renuart, commander of U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

Renuart, appearing Wednesday before the House Armed Services terrorism and unconventional threats and capabilities subcommittee, took issue at the tail end of his opening statement with that and other conclusions contained in the final report of the congressionally mandated Commission on the National Guard and Reserves.

The Jan. 31 report included some controversial recommendations, among them one echoing the commission’s interim report issued a year earlier that called for giving governors control of federal forces responding to emergencies.

“I disagree,” Renuart told the members. “I believe that the current provisions in legislation and law allow the governors to have absolutely all the authority to direct operations in their states. And we are supportive of that.”

“Our role,” Renuart explained later, “is to anticipate what states may need, coordinate that with the federal agencies that will also be responding, and we bring the capability that’s critical to success and integrate that into the governor’s plan.”

Renuart told the subcommittee that in the year he’s led the command, located at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., he has established a “culture of anticipation” that attempts to “look into the future” to anticipate future threats or disasters.

“Over the past year, we’ve substantially increased our focus on planning — integrated planning — on training, and on readiness,” Renuart said.

Renuart also rejected a recommendation to give the National Guard and reserves the “lead role in and form the backbone of” the homeland defense mission. NorthCom was established in 2002 to “provide command and control” of that mission and to coordinate the efforts of civil authorities.

“I’ve spoken to Chairman [Arnold] Punaro on this a number of times,” Renuart said later, “and he clearly believes that NorthCom should be ... he calls it ‘the glue that pulls this all together’ — and that NorthCom, as the combatant command responsible for these efforts, should be the lead agency in that regard.

“It’s not clear in the wording of the report exactly what is meant,” Renuart noted. “But I believe what they’re saying is the first response team, as it is in any disaster, is local. And so because the National Guard in a particular state is their ‘local’ in that state, they should be the first to respond.

“And I don’t disagree with that,” Renuart continued. “Where I disagree is, the other definition of ‘lead’ is, they take full responsibility. And I think with any responsibility, you have to have both the capacity and the capability to lead in a large-scale effort like [last fall’s California wildfires response]. And that’s not the structure that currently exists within the National Guard or the reserves or individual states. And that’s why NorthCom was formed.”

The commission also recommended that a majority of Northern Command billets be filled by leaders and staff with “reserve qualifications and credentials.” Renuart said a change is unnecessary, noting that 46 percent of the command’s personnel “have previous experience” working with National Guard and reserve personnel and units.

In addition, the command has nearly 50 National Guard officers on its staff, and six of the staff’s 13 flag officers are Guardsmen or reservists, he said. Renuart said Northern Command is also doubling the number of reserve billets for full-time positions “across the board.”

Renuart said the changes are permanent.

“[The changes] do acknowledge that having substantial experience in the Guard and reserves makes sense to us, and it has great value in the homeland,” Renuart said.