NORAD
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD /ˈnɔːræd/), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada department, that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Canada and the continental United States.[4]
For other uses, see NORAD (disambiguation).North American Aerospace Defense Command facility
12 May 1958
(66 years, 1 month)[1]
Binational Command
Conducting aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning in the defense of North America.[2]
Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
We Have the Watch
Blue
Turquoise
YellowHeadquarters for NORAD and the NORAD/United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) center are located at Peterson Space Force Base in El Paso County, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The nearby Cheyenne Mountain Complex has the Alternate Command Center. The NORAD commander and deputy commander are, respectively, a United States four-star general or equivalent and a Canadian lieutenant-general or equivalent.
Command[edit]
NORAD is headed by its commander, who is a four-star general or admiral in the United States Armed Forces. The deputy commander is a Royal Canadian Air Force lieutenant general. Prior to the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces, the deputy commander was an RCAF air marshal.[5]
The commander is responsible to the Government of Canada (the Crown-in-Council), through the chief of the Defence Staff, and to the Government of the United States, via the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The commander and deputy are each subject to their respective country's laws, policies, and directives.[6] Per the Canadian National Defence Act, the chief of the Defence Staff relays orders from the Crown-in-Council, collectively, or guidance from the minister of national defence, alone, to the officers of the Canadian Armed Forces.[7]