Dana Gabriel: Towards a North American Combined Military Force

The US and Canada recently signed several bilateral agreements that will further strengthen continental security and defense cooperation. Deeper military integration between both countries is part of efforts to establish a North American security perimeter and better address common global threats. Following the recent Permanent Joint Board on Defense (PJBD) meeting which took place in Ottawa, the Commander of Canada Command, Lt.-Gen Walter Seimaniw and the Commander of North American Aerospace Command (NORAD) and the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), Gen. Charles Jacoby, Jr. signed three military documents. The first was the Combined Defense Plan which a back grounder described as a "planning framework between Canada Command, its counterpart USNORTHCOM, and NORAD for enhanced defense cooperation between Canada and the US, should governments require each other's assistance. The second is the Information Sharing Memorandum of Understanding, "an arrangement between Canada Command, its counterpart USNORTHCOM and NORAD to identify and provide for ease of sharing information information amongst the three organizations." The Civil Assistance Plan, which was originally signed in 2008, and allows the armed forces of one nation to support the other during an emergency was also renewed for two years.