By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Sept. 11, 2014 – International efforts of the
United States to deal effectively and decisively with the scourge of Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists is a fitting backdrop to reflections
taken on a mountain in Colorado on the 13th anniversary of 9/11, the commander
of U.S. Northern Command said today.
President Barack Obama unveiled a plan last night for the
United States, along with an international coalition, to defeat the terrorist
group.
Army Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., the commander of the
56-year-old North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, and U.S.
Northern Command, established after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,
spoke this afternoon during the first Colorado Springs Combined Military 9/11
Commemoration at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station in Colorado Springs.
NORAD is a binational military command formally established
in 1958 by the United States and Canada to monitor and defend North American
airspace. A maritime warning mission was added in 2006.
Canadian Defense Minster Rob Nicholson also spoke at the event,
along with Melodie Homer, widow of United Airlines Flight 93 pilot LeRoy W.
Homer Jr.
“As we work to build a coalition to confront the ISIS
threat,” Jacoby said in his opening remarks, using an acronym by which the
terrorists also are known, “we also reflect on how, on 9/11, America’s friends
and allies stood by us shoulder to shoulder, and we can say with certainty that
no one has stood by us closer than our Canadian partners.”
Jacoby introduced the Canadian defense minister by noting
that Canada is leading the way in the world response to what he called “the
latest manifestation of murderous extremist ideology.”
Truly, the general added, “we know no better friends than
our Canadian neighbors.”
“Today we remember more than 2,700 Americans, 24 Canadians
and more than 350 other victims from around the world who tragically lost their
lives on Sept. 11, 2001,” Nicholson said. Canadians were shocked at the
audacity and cruelty of the attacks and horrified by the invasion of North
America, the defense minister added, “a continent we believed was relatively
safe and distant from the threat of terrorism.”
Swift reaction
The Canadian sense of security was shattered, but NORAD’s
reaction was swift, he said. Nearly 200 armed aircraft were deployed into U.S.
skies, and all nonessential U.S. air traffic was grounded. Canada responded by
receiving 293 flights that were to have landed in the United States until the
grounding order came.
“Canadians across the country opened up their hearts and
homes to more than 33,000 stranded travelers,” Nicholson said, “offering them
shelter, food and comfort. The actions of Canadians that day stand as a
powerful example of the Canadian-U.S. relationship.”
U.S.-Canadian defense cooperation grew stronger during years
of military engagement in Afghanistan, he added, and by the time Canada
withdrew from Afghanistan in March, 40,000 of its men and women had fought
there – the largest deployment of Canadian military personnel since World War
II.
The two nations also work together to bring peace to the
region during Russia’s aggressive military actions and provocation of Ukraine,
and as participants in NATO’s reassurance measures to promote security and
stability in central and eastern Europe, Nicholson said.
Both nations also work together at home, the defense
minister added, intensifying their joint training and exercise regime and
making important investments in counterterrorism and intelligence capabilities
to better detect, prevent and address potential threats.
“This is why it is especially meaningful to be here at NORAD
to mark the 13th anniversary of Sept. 11,” Nicholson said. “Seeing Canadian and
American military personnel working side by side at this impressive facility is
a testament to the fact that our defense partnership accords us greater
security than we could ever achieve alone. We pledge to continue our work to
reinforce our joint defense of the continent so that we may never see such a terrible
day again.”
A widow remembers
Next, Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of Air Force
Space Command, introduced Melodie Homer, widow of Leroy W. Homer Jr., first
officer of United Airlines Flight 93.
The morning of Sept. 11, 2001, the crew and passengers of
his flight attempted to overtake four hijackers before crashing into a field in
Shanksville, Pennsylvania, rather than its intended target, the U.S. Capitol.
Homer founded the Leroy W. Homer Foundation in 2002 in
memory of her husband, a 1987 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. The
foundation encourages young adults who wish to pursue aviation careers by
awarding flight scholarships.
She’s president and founder of the foundation, works as a
clinical nursing instructor and has 20 years of nursing experience in the
United States and Canada, where she was born.
In her remarks, Homer described the day 13 years ago that
her husband of more than three years left for work and never came home. Their
daughter was 10 months old.
“To this day, I think it’s hard for us to conceptualize the
loss of 2,973 lives,” she said. “Using airplanes as weapons of mass destruction
to take innocent lives and destroy symbols of this country’s freedoms was
unimaginable.”
Gratitude for protection
Both governments worked quickly, Homer added.
“Homeland Security was created, NORAD was working with the
Canadian government to keep the airspace safe for North America, and I say on
behalf of both countries, we are grateful for your protection and for keeping
us safe for the past 13 years,” she said.
“On occasions such as this we are reminded that we do have
to continue to be vigilant,” Homer added. “Those who wish to harm our way of
life will never stop trying.”
As Homer finished her remarks, Jacoby stepped forward and
presented her with a piece of granite that he described as “blasted from the
heart of our beautiful Cheyenne Mountain.” He said the rock “represents the
Cold War generation that had the strength and courage to prevail against the
threat of that era, and it provides us strength and inspiration to prevail
against the threats today.”
Honoring those lost
Sharing his own thoughts, the general said that the 700 U.S.
and Canadian service members and state and local leaders were there today first
to remember and honor the lives lost on September 11, 2001, “as are millions of
others across the country and around the world. We have done that every year,
and we’ll always do it, and we always must.”
Jacoby added, “Today as we continue to fight against another
ideological extremist terrorist organization, I would argue that remembering
how we felt on 9/11, remembering our commitment, has never been more relevant.”
The general said Americans may have lost feelings of
invulnerability and innocence but gained things as well.
“We rolled up our sleeves as nations of strong communities
and we committed to doing whatever it took to answer the challenges to our
safety, to our security and to our pride, like generations before us have
done,” he said.
A dangerous world
The world has changed significantly in the 13 years since
9/11 but it remains a very dangerous place, Jacoby added. “You only need to
watch the morning news or attend my daily intel brief to know that’s true.”
The faces and locations of extremism have changed but the
senseless violence and hatred in its heart has not, he said, “and the families
of James Foley and Steven Sotloff are in our thoughts today.”
The free nations of the world are more vulnerable than ever,
the general said, “even while our hearts and our spirit remain as they were on
Sept. 10, inclined toward peace and cooperation.”
The fights of the last 13 years have been difficult and the
challenge remains, but there are more fights ahead, Jacoby added.
“We must look to the inspiration as well as the tragedy of
9/ll to keep us faithful to our values, firm in our commitments and steadfast
in our hopes,” he said.
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