Featured
Top Canadian General Praises Partnership with United States during 9/11 Event
Written by: Tom Roeder
Canadian Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan placed a wreath at a 9/11 monument at Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
Credit: Space Foundation On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Canada sent its top general to Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station in Colorado Springs to celebrate the bi-national partnership that has kept the continent safe for a quarter century after the notorious terrorist strikes.
Canadian Forces Gen. Jennie Carignan joined U.S. military leaders near a monument to 9/11 and the wars that followed at Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station. The station is home to the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Missile Warning Center. It is nestled in a tunnel protected by a half mile of granite. The only time the Cold War-era NORAD facility closed its 25-ton blast doors in anger was Sept. 11. 2001. A mixed force of Canadians and Americans was sealed inside, where they used satellites and radar to detect and report threats.
“There was no question that Canadians would stand shoulder-to shoulder with our closest ally,” Carignan said.
Mountain Base had 9/11 Role
Cheyenne Mountain ordered the closure of U.S. airspace, routing international traffic to Canada. As the United States launched aerial patrols, Canada offered assistance.
“The defense of this continent does not belong to one of us,” Carignan said. “It belongs to both of us.
After her speech, Carignan expressed enthusiasm for partnership with U.S. space efforts, especially along its vast Arctic coast, where leaders fear a growing threat from Russia. The United States is driving satellite programs to improve missile warning, spot airborne targets from space, and improve communication at high latitudes.
“I think that collaboration is absolutely critical especially when it comes to development of new technologies,” Carignan said.
Leader says NORAD Ready
Retired Air Force Gen Ralph “Ed” Eberhart, who led NORAD and an earlier iteration of U.S. Space Command during the 9/11 attacks joined Carignan on the rostrum. Eberhart praised troops and first responders but mourned the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist strike and nearly 7,000 U.S. troops killed in the wars that followed.
“I hope to God this never happens again,” Eberhart said.
Another speaker was U.S. Air Force Gen. Greg Guillot, who leads U.S. Northern Command and NORAD. He expressed admiration for leaders who filled intelligence gaps, tightened security, developed satellite technology, and made NORAD ready to thwart terrorism.
“We have the watch,” Guillot said.
Related Articles
