Strategic Plan
About USNORTHCOM
U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) are separate commands. Both leverage the commander's singular vision and guidance; develop plans to meet challenges in the same strategic and operational environments; build complementary mission approaches; and share a common goal of defense of the United States and Canada.
This NORAD and USNORTHCOM Strategy is a combined strategy that aligns with objectives identified in the Interim National Security Strategic Guidance, National Defense Strategy, and Canada’s Strong, Secure, Engaged policy. | Enduring Conditions ~ NORAD and USNORTHCOM’s strategic approach focuses on achieving four enduring conditions (ECs) through the lens of the strategic principles. Because the nature of continental defense is not conducive to achieving a traditional "end state," the ECs drive us to continually evaluate the efficacy of operational planning and execution. This ensures our efforts, priorities, and resources are driving towards NORAD and USNORTHCOM's top priority - defending our nations. The four ECs serve as guideposts to drive efforts throughout both commands ... [They are documented as goals in this StratML rendition.]
Plan submitted by:
Owen Ambur
Problem Statement ~ Over the last three decades, our nations’ competitors and potential adversaries have watched Canada and the United States and our way of deterring, competing, and conducting war. They have adapted and developed advanced capabilities in all domains challenging us at home and across the competition continuum, and holding at risk our people, our critical infrastructure, and our power projection capabilities.
Analysis
Competitive Environment
Competitors
U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) are separate commands. Both leverage the commander's singular vision and guidance; develop plans to meet challenges in the same strategic and operational environments; build complementary mission approaches; and share a common goal of defense of the United States and Canada.
Direction
Vision
North America is well defended
Mission
To outpace global competitors, deter adversaries, deny and defeat threats through all-domain awareness, information dominance, decision superiority, and global integration.
Values
Principles
Strategic Principles ~ The four strategic principles used to achieve our priorities are building blocks under an umbrella of Global Integration (GI). All-Domain Awareness (DA) is the first step in pursuit of Information Dominance (ID), which is used to reach Decision Superiority (DS) in competition and crisis. Applying these strategic principles positions the commands further “left of launch” not just in crisis, but also during competition in order to get inside the adversaries Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) loop and complicate their calculus.
Integration
Global Integration in order to achieve a Globally Integrated Layered Defense Our adversaries operate globally, across all domains and organizational boundaries. Use of a global framework, rather than regional, to synchronize global all-domain operations is paramount to success. A globally integrated layered defense consists of layers in terms of geography (forward regions, approaches, and the homeland layers), domains (air, land, sea, space, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum, and cognitive), and whole-of-governments/nations. * The forward layer consists of forward-deployed Canadian and U.S. forces integrated with allies and partners; * The approaches layer consists of joint force capabilities integrated with capabilities from Canada, Mexico, and The Bahamas; * The homeland layer consists of joint force capabilities integrated with the whole-of-government/interagency and strategic private sector partner capabilities. ^ GI must guide force allocation, future acquisition, and budgeting choices. Additionally, we must coordinate globally focused planning with other combatant commands (CCMDs) and Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) to create a layered defense approach to protect our nations.
Information
Information Dominance (Orient) ~ We will achieve ID by connecting data from DA sensors to DS options. This involves advocating for joint force requirements and integrated capabilities. The Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept will overcome Service, interagency, and international stovepipes to ensure we control the information space in future information-centric warfare. We will support the Services as they advance capabilities and systems that rapidly ingest, aggregate, process, display, and disseminate data through artificial intelligence and machine learning. We are platform agnostic as to how the Services provide this capability.
Decision Making
Decision Superiority (Decide and Act) ~ We will place influence mechanisms, forces, or weapons systems at decisive points during day-to-day competition, in crisis, and in conflict, in advance of our global competitors' or adversaries' actions. Using our understanding of data delivered through DA and ID, we will send strategic messages, set our posture, advocate for and create flexible response options at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels in order to increase our decision space and disrupt our competitors' decision cycles and actions. Our options will be designed with affordability in mind, and include multiple levers to deter, detect, deny, and if necessary, defeat any threat to our nations. We are placing significant emphasis on a left-of-launch framework that will provide decision space, enabling deterrence and de-escalation options, vice end game defeat.
Awareness
All-Domain Awareness (Observe) ~ DA is a layered sensing grid that provides persistent battlespace awareness from the seabed to space and to cyberspace. As our competitors' capabilities continue to improve, we require timely and accurate information across all domains to counter their malign influence and actions. We are advocating and supporting cultural change within the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of National Defence (DND) to advance DA, through investment in service-life extensions of still-viable but aging capabilities, development of new capabilities, and inclusion of non-DoD/DND capabilities.
Action
Goals
Integration
Goal Statement: Achieve a globally integrated layered defense
Global Integration in order to achieve a Globally Integrated Layered Defense ~ Our adversaries operate globally, across all domains and organizational boundaries. Use of a global framework, rather than regional, to synchronize global all-domain operations is paramount to success. A globally integrated layered defense consists of layers in terms of geography (forward regions, approaches, and the homeland layers), domains (air, land, sea, space, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum, and cognitive), and whole-of-governments/nations.
The forward layer consists of forward-deployed Canadian and U.S. forces integrated with allies and partners; The approaches layer consists of joint force capabilities integrated with capabilities from Canada, Mexico, and The Bahamas; The homeland layer consists of joint force capabilities integrated with the whole-of-government/interagency and strategic private sector partner capabilities. GI must guide force allocation, future acquisition, and budgeting choices. Additionally, we must coordinate globally focused planning with other combatant commands (CCMDs) and Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) to create a layered defense approach to protect our nations.
Objectives:
- Threats
- Homelands Defense
- Competition & Deterrence
- Resiliency
Military Advantage
Goal Statement: Outpace competitors to ensure our military advantage is expanded
United States and Canada outpace competitors to ensure our military advantage is expanded and not eroded. | In order to maintain and increase our lead, we need to identify areas of competitive advantage, invest in them, and continually assess their effectiveness to ensure we are outpacing our adversaries.
Objectives:
- Integration
- Innovation
Partnerships
Goal Statement: Strengthen partnerships
U.S. and Canada's national security enhanced and regional stability maintained through strengthened partnerships. ~ Aligned with the Interim National Security Strategic Guidance and Strong, Secure, Engaged, we will revitalize our unmatched network of alliances and partnerships. In this era of great power competition, robust relationships with our international and interagency mission partners, the Services, other CCMDs, industry, the private sector, and academia are key to expanding the competitive space and enabling a layered defense of North America across the competition continuum.
Objectives:
- Missions
- Arctic
- NORTHCOM Partnerships
- Mexico & The Bahamas
- Canada
- Awareness, Control & Institutions
Disasters & TCOs
Goal Statement: Respond to disasters and counter TCOs
(USNORTHCOM) Civil authorities provided rapid flexible response options to improve collective resiliency. ~ We will continue supporting when requested, both in response to natural or manmade disasters and in countering TCOs [Tactical Combat Operations Systems]. Our ability to support our civil authority partners for large-scale incidents and national special security events (NSSEs) requires detailed integrated planning.
Objectives:
- Incidents
- Attacks