PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – The North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Northern Command and the Canadian Joint Operations Command concluded their annual Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Summit here Friday.
“The purpose of this year’s Summit was to bring together Canadian and U.S. civilian, military and government CBRN experts who deal with a spectrum of CBRN events and to practice, during a Command Sponsored Table Top exercise, how we can best work together during a CBRN event,” said Army Lt. Col. Pete Lofy, NORAD and USNORTHCOM Deputy Chief of CBRN Operations.
The summit consisted of panel discussions with experts, working groups on logistics, command and control and medical, and a static display. The Command Sponsored Table-Top Exercise explored NORAD and USNORTHCOM’s role in international CBRN response challenges identified during the Beyond the Borders meetings and Tri-Command Staff Talks.
“This summit offered an opportunity to share knowledge, to have a better understanding of what both countries, Canada and the United States, may need during times of crisis with mass fatalities and mass casualties,” said Reginald Fountain, Public Safety Canada. “It provides benefits for both sides, both the military and civilians, both Canada and the United States. And without opportunities like this summit, that level of cooperation that will be so direly needed during a crisis won’t take place for the safety and security of Canadians and Americans. So this is an opportunity to make it better for when it is required.”
More than 90 people took part in this year’s summit, coming from organizations such as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Public Safety Canada, the Canadian Joint Operations Command, the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as local responders.