Deputy Commander of NORAD visits NRO headquarters

CHANTILLY, VA.  –   The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Alain Pelletier received a series of briefs at National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Westfield on July 12. Lt. Gen. Pelletier was accompanied by NORAD Director of Intelligence Brigadier General Parker H. Wright.

Lt. Gen. Pelletier has served as the NORAD Deputy Commander for nearly a year and has been a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force for over 40 years. Brig. Gen. Wright has been a member of the United States Air Force for 25 years and was named the NORAD Director of Intelligence and Information last month.

NORAD is a bi-national command responsible for aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning for the United States and Canada. Aerospace warning is monitoring man-made objects in space as well as detecting, validating, and warning of attack against North America via aircraft, missile, or space vehicles. Aerospace control entails watching and controlling Canadian and United States airspace. Maritime warning is the sharing of intelligence across Canadian and United States federal agencies, organizations, and security partners to build global maritime domain awareness.

NORAD works in close collaboration with homeland defense, security, and law enforcement partners to respond to aerospace and maritime threats to North America; safeguard the sovereign airspaces of the United States and Canada by responding to unknown, unwanted, and unauthorized air activity approaching and operating within these airspaces.