NORAD 50th Anniversary

NORAD turned 50 on 12 May with a gala celebration in Colorado Springs to which the Minister of National Defence and the US Secretary of Defense attended. Speeches identified the tremendous success of the alliance over a period of five decades and many changes in threat, mission and focus. The value of NORAD remains important to our binational security and should continue to evolve over time, perhaps to a mission that includes much more than aerospace control and maritime warning to one which reflects wider defence cooperation between Canada and the United States. Our two countries are inextricably intertwined economically and are fundamentally dependent on each other for security. NORAD, or some future version of NORAD, can help to maintain the very close military working relationship we have enjoyed since the 1940’s.