Inaugural security gets post-9/11 test

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jan 11, 2005 | by PAM ZUBECK THE GAZETTE

Two Colorado Springs-based military commands charged with guarding the United States against attacks will try to ensure that the first presidential inauguration since the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes is unmarred by violence.

A command official didn't give specifics about preparations for President Bush's swearing-in for a second term Jan. 20.

But he said safeguarding the inauguration should be aided by existing tight security in the nation's capital, the commands' roundthe-clock vigilance and technology.

"I wouldn't characterize this as routine," said Michael Kucharek, media relations chief for North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command based at Peterson Air Force Base.

It's NorthCom's first inauguration after being created in October 2002 in response to the Sept. 11 attacks to guard against terrorists and help with natural disasters.

Kucharek said that because the capital region is a "high-value" terrorist target, it's always protected with a "multilayered defense" plan.

"There are things in place on a day-to-day basis that don't exist in other cities," he said.

Kucharek said much has changed for NORAD since the Sept. 11 attacks that better prepares the U.S.an command and NorthCom to respond.

"We've got, whether continuous or intermittent, air patrols over the national capital region and other cities in the U.S. and Canada," he said. "You have fighters on alert to respond at a moment's notice."

Although fighter aircraft were available before Sept. 11, their response to the strikes on New York City and the Pentagon were sluggish, confused and ill-equipped, according to an independent panel appointed by Congress to investigate the attacks.

"Now we have increased capability," Kucharek said, declining to discuss numbers of aircraft flying at any time and numbers available for deployment. "We don't talk about where they deploy from, but they are available within a moment's notice."

In addition, NORAD and NorthCom rely on Airborne Warning and Control Systems, which weren't used for homeland security before Sept. 11.

Other improvements include NorthCom having an intelligence arm; enhanced radar capability; better sharing of radar information among agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration; and closer links with dozens of agencies that would respond in a national crisis, such as the FBI, Secret Service and the departments of Defense and Homeland Security.

NORAD and NorthCom also gained insight from its security roles last year for the G-8 economic conference, the Republican and Democratic national conventions and President Reagan's funeral.

Inauguration security will be monitored from three coordination centers, one of which is about 25 miles away in Virginia.

Kucharek wouldn't say whether intelligence chatter has picked up as the event approaches.

"We continue to assess the threat through NorthCom and cooperation with interagency partners," he said.

"I don't think it's another day at the office. Everyone has their game face on, and everyone is really watching and keeping an eye on what's happening."

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