Omaha World-Herald April 18, 2002
Offutt loses homeland security bid The Bellevue base had been considered for the new NorthCom site, which most likely will be in Colorado.
By Jake Thompson, Joe Dejka
Offutt Air Force Base missed landing a new military homeland-security headquarters Wednesday, but it still could win - or lose - crucial war-readiness duties.
The new homeland-defense base, dubbed the Northern Command, is likely to be at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced at a Pentagon press briefing in which he addressed a series of changes to the military's command structure.
The Defense Department is studying whether to merge the U.S. Strategic Command, the nation's nuclear-war-planning operation based at Offutt, with the U.S. Space Command, which oversees military satellites and global communications and is now based at Peterson.
"I don't want to get people's hopes too high, but I think it's important for us to understand that they think there is a vital role for Offutt," Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said of Pentagon officials. A merger could bring the Space Command under Strategic Command's responsibility, or vice versa. Asked whether that might lead the Space Command to move to Offutt, Rumsfeld said, "We don't anticipate big moves, if you're talking about people and buildings and communications."
The Strategic Command currently has 1,500 personnel stationed at Offutt, while the Space Command has 700 at Peterson.
After attending a briefing Rumsfeld held for senators on the military restructuring, Nelson, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, played down a possible merger and said of Rumsfeld, "I think he's saying, 'Let's see if it makes sense. If it makes sense, we'll pursue it. If it doesn't make sense, then it shouldn't happen, and it won't.'"
Nelson said he hopes the merger study will be completed by the fall.
The Northern Command will become operational Oct. 1. President Bush is expected to nominate Air Force Gen. Ralph Eberhart, currently the commander of the Space Command, as the first commander of the Northern Command.
John Pike, a defense analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, said that when Pentagon leaders sit down to rejigger the wiring diagram of their command structure, the idea of merging StratCom and SpaceCom always comes up.
"It has been talked about for 15 years, but nothing's ever come of it," he said.
Pike said he suspects that's because the merger, while improving the chain of command, isn't needed to address any glaring problems.
"I can't detect anything that's broken that would get fixed by doing this," he said.
Clearly, though, the Pentagon is trying to fix obvious problems brought into glaring focus after Sept. 11's terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon.
Rumsfeld said the nation needs to be better-shielded from unexpected events.
The restructuring, the biggest update since 1946 in what's called the Unified Command Plan, is to refocus the nation's nine - soon to be 10 - combat military commands to meet post-Cold War challenges.
Rumsfeld said at his briefing that Peterson is the preferred site for the new Northern Command, which will be charged with protecting Americans from further domestic attacks. Some had worried that the nation's military looked outward too much for threats, and the new system is more inward-looking, he said.
"The creation of NorthCom means that we now have the command assigned to defend the American people where they live and work, and it will be functioning in a supporting role to civil authorities as occasions arise," Rumsfeld said.
The Northern Command will pull together responsibilities now at three locations under one four-star military commander. The commander also will head the Northern American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. Eberhart now is NORAD's commander.
The Northern Command will work with the Canadian and Mexican governments, and it will have responsibilities reaching 500 miles off the American shoreline. It will better coordinate military support for such civil agencies at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and local and state governments in the event of natural disasters or chemical, biological, radiological or explosives attacks on Americans, the Pentagon said.
It will coordinate with the White House Office of Homeland Security.
Sen. Chuck Hagel said he wasn't disappointed that Offutt lost out to Peterson for the homeland-security headquarters.
"Offutt's not losing anything," the Nebraska Republican said. "In fact, we're being enhanced here. Anytime you can move assets to your region, and focus, I think that only enhances the importance of our region."
Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., whose district includes Offutt, said he was discouraged that Offutt was passed over, but still thinks it is important. "I'm confident Offutt will continue to be part of discussions about opportunities similar to this one," he said.
Copyright 2002 The Omaha World-Herald Company
