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U.S. Air Force Gen Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy will assume command of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command during a ceremony on Thursday, May 24 at 9 a.m. MDT on Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Gen O’Shaughnessy, who was previously the commander of Pacific Air Forces, takes over from Gen Lori Robinson, who is retiring after 36 years of service.
Guests of honour at the change of command ceremony include Harjit S. Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of National Defence; Jim Mattis, U.S. Secretary of Defense; Gen Jonathan H. Vance, Canada’s chief of the defence staff, and Gen Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Gen Vance and Secretary Mattis will preside over the ceremony.
NORAD is the bi-national Canadian and American command that provides aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning for Canada and the United States while USNORTHCOM partners to conduct homeland defence, civil support and security cooperation to defend and secure the U.S. and its interests.
The two commands have complementary missions and are co-located together on Peterson AFB. NORAD recently celebrated 60 years of ongoing partnership between the Canada and the United States.
