Free Republic

NORAD, USNORTHCOM participate in Exercise Vigilant Shield 09 November 5, 2008 PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command will participate in Exercise Vigilant Shield 09 Nov. 12 - 18. The focus of VS09 is on homeland defense and civil support. The exercise will include scenarios to achieve exercise objectives within the maritime, aerospace, ballistic missile defense, cyber, consequence management, strategic communications, and counter terrorism domains. VS09 will run concurrent with other Department of Defense-sponsored and international exercises to more realistically test the synchronized response of federal, state, local and international mission partners...

How The West Was Won The rapid and unexpected decline of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq was officially recognized this week, when Maj. Gen. John Kelly, commanding the Marine Expeditionary Force, turned operational control of Anbar Province over to the Iraqi army and police. Anbar, a vast expanse of desert the size of North Carolina, had been the stronghold of the Sunni insurgency. For years, foreign fighters loyal to al-Qaida had sneaked across Iraq's northwestern border with Syria, into Anbar and down a "rat line" of safe houses in Haditha, Ramadi and Hit. From Fallujah, the arch terrorist Zarqawi...

this site is personal to me it seems no strings attached, their sponsors take care of it all. just click and you will help many worthwhile causes, like hunger, breast cancer, literacy and pets. really, i run firefox with adblock plus and this site has given me no malware or issues/popups. it seems legit, if i can donate a can of food a day and more, i'm sure someone here can help spread the word. i appreciate it. and i'm in no way affiliated with them or paid, this isn't spam. i'm just a news junkie with this place and...

ROME, N.Y., May 13, 2008 – While North American Aerospace Defense Command celebrates its rich and historic 50-year history, one unit will remain diligently watching the skies just as it did on Sept. 11, 2001. Master Sgt. Thomas Whiteman, an Air National Guardsman with Northeast Air Defense Sector, salutes as Master Cpl. Bob Peldjak, a Canadian member of NEADS, stands at attention while the Canadian national anthem is played and the Canadian flag is raised on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2007. The binational, joint ceremony is held every year at the Veterans Memorial Park in Rome, N.Y., honoring the...

Government Attic. I'm on dialup so I won't be downloading the tapes. But this should interest some here.

Anybody know if there are sites similar to "FR", sites where Christians/conservatives can post, discuss? Thank you. John Lofton, Editor, TheAmericanView.com JLof@aol.com

PIEDMONT, Mo. — President Bush Wednesday evening declared a major disaster in Missouri and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in areaa struck by severe storms and flooding. Residents of low-lying towns stacked sandbags or grabbed belongings and evacuated the region after a foot of rain pushed rivers and creeks out of their banks in the nation's midsection. At least 13 deaths had been linked to the weather, and three people were missing.

The Free Republic is not so "free."

SIERRA VISTA — A recent international airspace incident involved a critic of the government’s illegal-immigration policies and two F-16 fighter jets. Glenn Spencer, head of the American Border Patrol, apparently triggered a security trip wire on Jan. 15 as he was flying from El Paso, Texas, in a Cessna 206. “I was monitoring the progress of the government in securing our border, and I was intercepted by an F-16!” Spencer stated in a letter to his supporters. He uses the letter to drum up support for his watchdog cause. The incident happened shortly after noon, about eight miles east of...

We found this site a few years ago and my daughter still loves to watch NORAD track Santa's progress around the world on Christmas Eve! :-) Merry Christmas to those of you in the time zones where Christmas and Santa has already arrived! :-)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2007 – Members of North American Aerospace Defense Command are gearing up to track Santa Claus’ travels on Christmas Eve, providing detailed information about his whereabouts on the command’s Web site and through a toll-free telephone line. Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, delivered a tongue-in-cheek assessment of the Santa-tracking mission. He reported a “consistent phenomenon” the command has tracked for decades. “Sometime around the 24th of December, this individual begins to take flight, and he makes a very rapid trip around the globe,” he said. When Continental...

August 30, 2007 PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command along with U.S. Pacific Command, the Department of Homeland Security as well as local, state and other federal responders will exercise their response abilities against a variety of potential threats during Exercise Vigilant Shield ‘08, a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-designated, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)-sponsored, and U.S. Joint Forces Command-supported Department of Defense exercise for homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities missions. VS-08 will be conducted concurrent with Top Officials 4...

TOMS RIVER (1010 WINS) -- A fiery streak across the sky got the attention of the Coast Guard Saturday night, after the reported fireball crashed into the waters off the Jersey Shore. Concerned calls started coming in from South Carolina to Long Island about 9 p.m. Coast Guard boats were searching near the site of the reported impact, off Normandy Beach in Toms River, about 10 miles off shore. No debris has been found in the water. The Toms River Fire Department says it also got some calls and there were at least 20 people on the beach with the...

TOMS RIVER (1010 WINS) -- A fiery streak across the sky got the attention of the Coast Guard Saturday night, after the reported fireball crashed into the waters off the Jersey Shore. Concerned calls started coming in from South Carolina to Long Island about 9 p.m. Coast Guard boats were searching near the site of the reported impact, off Normandy Beach in Toms River, about 10 miles off shore. No debris has been found in the water. The Toms River Fire Department says it also got some calls and there were at least 20 people on the beach with the...

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN, Colo. (Reuters) - The U.S. military will move its secure command center from deep inside Cheyenne Mountain even as Russia revives military maneuvers that led America to burrow under the rock almost 50 years ago.

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2007 – Officials at U.S. Northern Command are “keenly aware” of information within the newly released National Intelligence Estimate and are committed to working to ensure terrorists don’t succeed in attacking the United States, a NORTHCOM official said. A declassified version of the report released yesterday notes that Islamic terrorist groups, particularly al Qaeda, are likely to remain a persistent threat to the U.S. homeland over the next three years. The report paints a picture of terrorists’ “undiminished intent to attack the homeland.” “We assess that al Qaeda’s homeland plotting is likely to continue to focus on...

They warn us of approaching storms. They allow us to make emergency phone calls on mobile phones. They're the digital conveyor belt for global commerce. They help police and ambulances reach their destinations when every minute counts. And the Pentagon relies on them to provide U.S. forces with intelligence, communications and targeting information. Satellites, it seems, have become our lifelines. Still, it's easy to take satellites for granted -- easy, that is, until the People's Liberation Army crashes a missile into one of China's aging meteorological satellites, as it did last month. It was a crude show of strength, which...

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., Jan. 31, 2007 – The Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region is stepping up its air patrols in the Miami-Dade area to increase security during Super Bowl XLI activities. Spectators will see the Air Force Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, fly over Dolphin Stadium Feb. 4 during pregame events and other Air Force fighter jets in the local area during the game. The patrols are a smart, efficient way to protect American lives and resources in the region, said Maj. Gen. Henry C. Morrow, the commander of both 1st Air Force and Continental...

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released documents obtained November 2006 under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM). The documents concern the participation of NORTHCOM Commander, Admiral Timothy Keating, NORTHCOM Political Advisor Deborah Bolton, and Plans, Policy & Strategy Director Major General Mark Volcheff in a meeting of the “North American Forum” at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Canada on September 12-14, 2006. A similar request for records concerning forum participation by then-Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and his entourage is still pending with the Pentagon......

Follow along with NORAD as they track the magical journey of Santa Claus (Father Christmas/Sinterklaas/Pere Noel/De Kerstman/Julenisse etc.) around the world tonight! CLICK HERE TO BEGIN

12/23/2006 - PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFPN) -- Despite being pounded by the holiday blizzard of 2006, North American Aerospace Defense Command remains on alert for the nation and ready to track Santa Claus, according to NORAD officials. "NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center is schedule to begin operations as scheduled at 2 a.m. Christmas Eve," said Michael Perini, director of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command Public Affairs. More than 800 Santa tracking volunteers will cycle through the center answering telephone calls and e-mails from children around the world wanting to get a fix on Santa Claus' whereabouts. "In 2005, the volunteers at the...

Canadian NORAD fighter pilots flying the CF-18 Hornet jet fighter will escort Santa Claus throughout Canada. And meeting Santa Claus in United States of America airspace will be United States NORAD fighter pilots flying F/A-18 Hornet and/or the F-15 Eagle fighter jets. This year, sadly, the F-14 Tomcat is unable to provide protection for Santa's super-secret, high-tech, marvel-of-aviation sleigh; after long decades of noble service the fighter jet is now retired. Based on what we see in the photo below (released by the United States Navy) retirement is far from Santa's mind. He's looking quite comfortable, and physically fit, as...

For all of you who have kids who want to track Santa on Christmas Eve, please check out the NORAD Santa Tracking Site http://www.noradsanta.org/index.php and let your children follow Santa on his journey around the world. Enjoy.

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., Nov. 17, 2006 -- In advance of the holiday season and its 51st season of tracking Santa Claus on his annual journey around the world, the North American Aerospace Defense Command today activated its “NORAD Tracks Santa” Web site for 2006. The U.S.-Canadian command’s program began in 1955 when an errant phone call was made to NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The call was from a local child who dialed a misprinted telephone number in a local newspaper advertisement. The commander who answered the phone that...

"With the arrest of an apparent Russian spy, it looks like the Conservative Canadian government is actually securing their nation. Along with the recent terror arrests, this encourages one to hope they will be doing the same on the US border.""I want to see if the Russians are ready to bully Canada in the same way they bullied Georgia when their spies were caught in that nation. This reinforces the need for NATO to take strong stances with Russia."

Dr. Strangelove would have a hea wt attack: America's vaunted underground war room deep inside this granite mountain is being retired. Not only that, but Russian military men have been inside the place. During the long nuclear standoff with Moscow, the nation's super-secret nerve center was a symbol of both Cold War might and apocalyptic dread, depicted in such movies as "WarGames" in 1983. But with the end of the Cold War, the war room is being put on "warm standby" to save money. A staff will keep it ready to resume operations at a moment's notice if a blast-hardened...

As a precaution. They have not said plan crash in NY is terror related.

A new U.S. push for greater Russian military openness collided with Cold War habits last week as Russian long-range bombers flew within 15 miles of U.S. airspace off Alaska, Denver Post website reported. Fully-armed U.S. fighter jets responded, intercepting the two bombers. The Russian Tu-95 bombers on a training exercise Thursday penetrated a North American buffer zone, said a statement Friday from Maj. Gen. Brett Cairns, operations chief for Colorado Springs-based North American Aerospace Defense Command.

News Release NORAD intercepts Russian aircraft NORAD - September 29, 2006 WINNIPEG, MAN. – North American Aerospace Defense Command launched three pairs of fighters Thursday evening from the command's Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) and the Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR) in response to Russian aircraft that penetrated North America’s Air Defense Identification Zone, according to NORAD officials. “While the Russian air assets at no time violated Canadian or U.S. airspace, integrated air defense assets in and around CANR and ANR were able to detect, intercept and identify a number of the Russian Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers participating in an annual Russian...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., charged on July 31 that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) have covered up "catastrophic failures" that left the nation vulnerable during the Sept. 11 hijackings. "For almost three years now, NORAD officials and FAA officials have been able to hide their critical failures that left this country defenseless during two of the worst hours in our history," Dayton declared during a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearing. During the hearing, Dayton told leaders of the Sept. 11 commission, that, based on the commission's report, a NORAD...

Anyone over the age of twenty has scratched their heads regarding some actions taken by the United States government during their lifetime. A recent report published in the Denver Post, ["Military to put Cheyenne Mountain on standby" dated 07.27.06 http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_4103478] is another one of those times. The U.S. military has decided, for lack of better words, to decommission NORAD's (North American Aerospace Defense Command) Cheyenne Mountain facility. The site was part of a global wide early warning system which had the potential to track inbound nuclear threats to the North American continent during the Cold War. Construction of the Cheyenne...

How did the U.S. Air Force respond on 9/11? Could it have shot down United 93, as conspiracy theorists claim? Obtaining 30 hours of never-before-released tapes from the control room of NORAD's Northeast headquarters, the author reconstructs the chaotic military history of that day—and the Pentagon's apparent attempt to cover it up. VF.com exclusive: Hear excerpts from the September 11 NORAD tapes. Click PLAY after each transcript to listen ___ http://www.vanityfair.com/features/general/060801fege01

NORAD to turn out lights on Cold War headquarters By PETER ROPER THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN Perhaps it was inevitable, once the Berlin Wall was torn down, that Pentagon officials would start thinking about closing the big blast doors at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station one last time and hanging out the “Closed until further notice” sign. In a startling announcement, that process got under way Friday when Navy Adm. Tim Keating, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, announced that NORAD would be moving out of the legendary headquarters that is burrowed deeply inside Cheyenne Mountain - a granite...

Colorado Springs - The military is relegating its newly renovated airspace and missile defense complex in Cheyenne Mountain to standby status - clouding the future of a Cold War nerve center touted as the most secure spot in America. The green-jumpsuited sentries who electronically scan the skies from deep inside this granite cocoon southwest of Colorado Springs - built in the 1960s to withstand Soviet nuclear blasts - now are to blend into broader homeland defense operations under prairie skies at nearby Peterson Air Force Base. "I can't be in two places at one time," said Adm. Tim Keating, commander...

July 07, 2006, 5:30 a.m. America’s New Best FriendCanada’s prime minister is an unlikely ally. By Martin Sieff If Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper did not exist, we would have been glad to invent him. President George W. Bush knew well what he was doing when he rolled out the red carpet for the young new Canadian leader at the White House Thursday. For, after only half a year in office and constrained by his Conservative party’s lack of an overall majority in the Canadian House of Commons, Harper has already shown himself a loyal friend of the United...

The US military is relying ever more on space satellites to help wage combat in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, though analysts say that Washington's space supremacy could be threatened by rivals in the future. The Pentagon is using sophisticated satellites that orbit Earth in a bid to track down its enemies and keep a round-the-clock watch on unfriendly foes. The technological advantage can prove lethal, as witnessed by the recent air raid that killed the long-wanted Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. "Space capabilities have revolutionized the way we fight today by providing our forces with battlefield situational...

The US missile defense system was put to its first real test Tuesday and Wednesday with North Korea's launch of a long-range missile and a half dozen shorter range missiles. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he was on and off the phone with top US commanders almost continuously for days before the missile tests. "I received the notification of the launch of these missiles probably within of a minute of when they occurred," he told reporters before a meeting with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. Pentagon officials were circumspect, though, about how the multi-billion dollar missile defense system performed. "What...

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – U.S. Northern Command officials acknowledged today that the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea has launched a sixth short-range ballistic missile from Kittaeryong into the Sea of Japan. It is the seventh launch from the DPRK that trained personnel stationed at the headquarters of the command based in Colorado Springs, Colo., have been able to detect and monitor since Tuesday. USNORTHCOM personnel continue to monitor using various worldwide ground-, sea- and space-based sensors. While Ground-based Midcourse Defense System interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., were operational during the flight, top...

Missile Fired Into Sea of Japan

TOKYO - A defiant North Korea test-fired a long-range missile Wednesday that may be capable of reaching America, but it failed seconds after launch, U.S. officials said. The North also tested four of shorter range in an exercise the White House termed "a provocation" but not an immediate threat. The audacious military tests by isolated communist nation came despite stern warnings from the United States and Japan — and carried out as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July and launched the space shuttle. None of the missiles made it as far as Japan. The Japanese government said all landed...

most things about North Korea, little is known for certain about the Taepodong 2 missile. But there is no doubt North Korea does have a very long standing and pretty sophisticated missile programme. North Korea's intentions are under the global spotlight In 1998, before it began observing a moratorium on tests, North Korea launched a Taepodong 1 missile which passed over northern Japan and surprised Western intelligence agencies by the use of three stages in the missile's propulsion system. What is striking about the Taepodong 2 is that it could well be North Korea's first genuine intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)...

TOKYO (AP) Japanese broadcaster NHK says North Korea has test-launched a missile.

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo., July 3, 2006 – U.S. Northern Command has a new partner in defending North America from future terrorist and natural disasters. During his first official visit to NORTHCOM headquarters here as the commander of Canada Command, Canadian Forces Lt. Gen. Marc Dumais promised the two nations would take their already strong military cooperation to new heights. Canada Command is the Canadian Forces formation responsible for all of Canada's routine and contingency domestic operations. The creation of Canada Command was based on the new international security environment and a commitment to place greater emphasis on the...

As the U.S. continues to express concern about the possibility of a North Korean missile test directed toward American territory and the rest of the world holds its breath over a close encounter with an asteroid, several U.S. air bases are on heightened alert. But no one is talking about why. The Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, which houses NORAD – charged with monitoring the North Korea situation – is now at "Bravo-Plus." Other air bases in Colorado, California and Florida are also on heightened alert status. There are five levels of alert: normal, Alpha (low), Bravo (medium), Charlie (high) and...

An Air Force installation in Colorado Springs and one near Denver are operating with heightened security. The Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, which houses NORAD, is now at "Bravo-Plus". There are five levels of alert: normal, Alpha (low), Bravo (medium), Charlie (high) and Delta (critical). “Bravo-Plus” is slightly higher than a medium threat level. Space Command would not comment on the reason for the security increase. The order also affects Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and Patrick air force base in Florida.

Backgrounder NORAD BG–06.011 - May 12, 2006BackgroundThe North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) is a bi-national military organization formally established in 1958 by Canada and the United States to monitor and defend North American airspace. NORAD monitors and tracks man-made objects in space and detects, validates and warns of attack against North America by aircraft, missiles or ‘space vehicles’ (e.g. satellites and space debris). NORAD also provides surveillance and control of Canadian and U.S. airspace. The NORAD Agreement was first signed by the governments of Canada and the United States on May 12, 1958, and has been renewed for varying...

New Norad deal approved in House of Commons Updated Mon. May. 8 2006 11:35 PM ET Canadian Press OTTAWA -- The House of Commons has voted to renew and expand the Norad pact, a keystone of Canada's defence for half a century. Both the Conservative government, which signed the latest renewal agreement, and the Liberals, who oversaw the renewal process, supported the deal.

MOSCOW. April 22 (Interfax) - Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers managed to penetrate a radar zone near the Canadian coast during recent exercises, said Igor Khvorov, the commander of the Russian 37th air force army (strategic aviation). "Our command-post exercises were planned, but they caused a kind of commotion in a number of countries. In particular, our planes managed to pass through a radar zone near Canadian coasts unnoticed," Khvorov said at a press conference in Moscow on Saturday. The exercises reverberated in the Middle East, Khvorov said. "Of course, our exercises did not have anything to do with the...

April 22, 2006 (by Lieven Dewitte) - A passenger who claimed to have a bomb aboard a United Airlines flight was subdued by passengers as the California-bound plane was diverted to Denver International Airport. Two F-16 fighter jets from Buckley Air Force Base scrambled to escort the plane. The A-320 Airbus heading to Sacramento, Calif., from Chicago flew into Denver Friday. The F-16s followed to make sure nothing untoward was going to happen. Jose Manuel Pelayo-Ortega tried to open an door on the Airbus A-320 en route from Chicago to Sacramento, Calif., and then claimed to have a bomb forcing...

MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russian military planes flew undetected through the U.S. zone of the Arctic Ocean to Canada during recent military exercises, a senior Air Force commander said Saturday. The commander of the country's long-range strategic bombers, Lieutenant General Igor Khvorov, said the U.S. Air Force is now investigating why its military was unable to detect the Russian bombers. "They were unable to detect the planes either with radars or visually," he said. Khorov said that during the military exercises in April, Tu-160 Blackjack bombers and Tu-95 Bears had successfully carried out four missile launches. Bombing exercises...