thedrifter
02-23-04, 11:08 AM
Issue Date: February 23, 2004
High-seas NORAD?
Navy’s top officer thinks it’s time for maritime tracking
By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer
SAN DIEGO — The global war on terrorism may require the establishment of a “maritime NORAD” command to track and safeguard commerce and ships on the high seas, the top Navy officer said Feb. 4.
NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, controls the nation’s air space. There is no similar overarching command for seaways, although the Coast Guard provides for the coastal patrols of the nation’s waterways and has stepped its homeland security operations into high gear since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
“We should build a maritime NORAD,” Adm. Vern Clark, chief of naval operations, told a luncheon audience of more than 500 at the West 2004 conference sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and AFCEA International in San Diego.
“We need to examine every channel … of potential danger to us,” Clark told reporters. “We need to know as much as we can to know as much about what is moving inside that channel.”
Clark said “the Coast Guard is taking the lead,” but added that the idea is “in the concept development stage.” He declined to provide more details but said talks were held at a recent joint conference in Boston on joint security issues.
However, the concept isn’t a new one: Clark first floated the idea more than a year ago.
“In conducting homeland defense, forward deployed naval forces will network with other assets of the Navy and the Coast Guard, as well as the intelligence agencies, to identify, track and intercept threats long before they threaten this nation,” Clark said in a November 2002 speech in Washington, D.C. A maritime NORAD, “will extend the security of the United States far seaward, taking advantage of the time and space purchased by forward deployed assets to protect the U.S. from impending threats.”
Whether this year will bring the concept to reality isn’t clear.
Clark conceded that international agreements with foreign governments would be needed in order to provide security and protection at key sea crossings and channels. The world’s busiest commercial and military sea lanes include hot spots for piracy and terrorism, including the Straits of Malacca in Indonesia and Hormuz in the Middle East, as well as the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.
Whether such a military command would include foreign partners and U.S. allies in a global joint security force isn’t known. A Congressional Research Service report to Congress in 2003 noted that the Canadian government hadn’t seen a need for such a maritime security agreement.
But the oceans are vast. Just how a maritime NORAD would be constructed and operate to track the high seas isn’t known.
Clark continues to press the need. “Just like an airplane — they fly around with a transponder that says, ‘here I am’ and ‘this is my code,’ and it makes them identifiable,” he told reporters. “I believe that’s what we need in a maritime zone, and I believe it is possible.”
What is needed, said Clark, is the establishment of a baseline of information and knowledge of potential threats and dangers to help safeguard the seas.
Satellites have provided a way to see specific vessels or monitor a specific area. But tracking vessels may require a huge network of transponders to identify every vessel at sea and provide information on cargo, crews, passengers and routes.
Born during the Cold War, NORAD has seen its role grow since Sept. 11, 2001. It falls under the U.S. Northern Command, based in Colorado.
Gidget Fuentes is the San Diego bureau chief for Marine Corps Times. E-mail her at gfuentes@marinecorpstimes.com.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-2631773.php
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
High-seas NORAD?
Navy’s top officer thinks it’s time for maritime tracking
By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer
SAN DIEGO — The global war on terrorism may require the establishment of a “maritime NORAD” command to track and safeguard commerce and ships on the high seas, the top Navy officer said Feb. 4.
NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, controls the nation’s air space. There is no similar overarching command for seaways, although the Coast Guard provides for the coastal patrols of the nation’s waterways and has stepped its homeland security operations into high gear since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
“We should build a maritime NORAD,” Adm. Vern Clark, chief of naval operations, told a luncheon audience of more than 500 at the West 2004 conference sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and AFCEA International in San Diego.
“We need to examine every channel … of potential danger to us,” Clark told reporters. “We need to know as much as we can to know as much about what is moving inside that channel.”
Clark said “the Coast Guard is taking the lead,” but added that the idea is “in the concept development stage.” He declined to provide more details but said talks were held at a recent joint conference in Boston on joint security issues.
However, the concept isn’t a new one: Clark first floated the idea more than a year ago.
“In conducting homeland defense, forward deployed naval forces will network with other assets of the Navy and the Coast Guard, as well as the intelligence agencies, to identify, track and intercept threats long before they threaten this nation,” Clark said in a November 2002 speech in Washington, D.C. A maritime NORAD, “will extend the security of the United States far seaward, taking advantage of the time and space purchased by forward deployed assets to protect the U.S. from impending threats.”
Whether this year will bring the concept to reality isn’t clear.
Clark conceded that international agreements with foreign governments would be needed in order to provide security and protection at key sea crossings and channels. The world’s busiest commercial and military sea lanes include hot spots for piracy and terrorism, including the Straits of Malacca in Indonesia and Hormuz in the Middle East, as well as the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.
Whether such a military command would include foreign partners and U.S. allies in a global joint security force isn’t known. A Congressional Research Service report to Congress in 2003 noted that the Canadian government hadn’t seen a need for such a maritime security agreement.
But the oceans are vast. Just how a maritime NORAD would be constructed and operate to track the high seas isn’t known.
Clark continues to press the need. “Just like an airplane — they fly around with a transponder that says, ‘here I am’ and ‘this is my code,’ and it makes them identifiable,” he told reporters. “I believe that’s what we need in a maritime zone, and I believe it is possible.”
What is needed, said Clark, is the establishment of a baseline of information and knowledge of potential threats and dangers to help safeguard the seas.
Satellites have provided a way to see specific vessels or monitor a specific area. But tracking vessels may require a huge network of transponders to identify every vessel at sea and provide information on cargo, crews, passengers and routes.
Born during the Cold War, NORAD has seen its role grow since Sept. 11, 2001. It falls under the U.S. Northern Command, based in Colorado.
Gidget Fuentes is the San Diego bureau chief for Marine Corps Times. E-mail her at gfuentes@marinecorpstimes.com.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-2631773.php
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: