North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) & the US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) held a Facebook Live town hall meeting on Tuesday, March 24, informing the public how their essential teams in charge of homeland security are isolating at the Cheyenne Mountain bunker in Colorado amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The facility is more than 2,000 feet underground and can survive a 30 megaton nuclear explosion.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has just warned that social unrest in major Western cities could develop in the coming weeks. The evolution of the virus crisis could be social destabilization, hence why the military is preparing.
NORAD and NORTHCOM have already used up about 30% of the underground facility. O’Shaughnessy said with the increased personnel, his
“primary concern is . . . are we going to have the space inside the mountain for everybody who wants to move in there, and I’m not at liberty to discuss who’s moving in there.”
Watch NORAD & Northern Command COVID-19 Townhall Meeting here
- Aired on Facebook Live, (starts at -30:20. the first 7 minutes are muted)
- NORAD & USNORTHCOM COVID-19 Townhall Meeting
NORAD & USNORTHCOM townhall meeting via Facebook Live, Tuesday, 24 March at 2 p.m. MDT.
Commander, General O’Shaughnessy; the Command Surgeon, Dr. (Captain) Kane; and our Command Senior Enlisted Leader, Sergeant Major McKenna discuss our commands’ COVID-19 priorities:
- Protect our force and their families
- Protect our readiness to defend the homelands, and
- Support our interagency partners addressing the crisis.
Facebook Comments
- 27:21 — Teleworking has been the #1 recommended COA on every piece of literature I’ve read from multiple sources (OPM, DOD, Fed, State, CDC, etc) to help prevent the spread while keeping folks working. Understanding there are limitation with Teleworking, why aren’t we going to 100% telework except for functions that can’t be done outside the building (ie N2C2, Classified access)? I’ve been told the main issue is Equipment but I’ve been teleworking 100% from home using my own personal IT for the past week. It isn’t perfect but it is working.
- 23:40 — Having a family member fall ill with COVID-19 and becoming hospitalized would understandably be an extremely challenging situation. If the employee’s dependent is hospitalized due to COVID-19, the employee may telework or take their personal leave (annual, sick, etc). Regarding having an immunocompromised dependent, right now there is no higher-level guidance regarding how having a high-risk dependent may impact the status of a DoD team member. If an employee is required to self-quarantine because they themselves have been exposed to the virus, and if they are telework ready, they are required to telework. If the employee is not telework ready, they will be granted admin leave. If the employee is diagnosed with COVID-19, the employee is required to take their personal/sick leave. Weather and safety leave is only authorized for employees who are quarantined by a public health official with asymptomatic symptoms and are not telework ready.
- 22:47 — We are aware that there is a positive case/s on Peterson, will our spouses be notified if any of those people are in the Norad/Northcom building?
- 15:22 — My question is this: this virus looks like it was released intentionally. The Hot Zones in our most populated cities and around the world seem to suggest a calculated spot release.
- 13:52 — It’ll be whatever China strikes with first. Gonna be cyber for sure, possible EMP’s and a hellova naval battle
- 10:06 — What is with all of the tank movement across the land?
- 9:10 — Kabuki theater! To keep you busy and calm while they get to safety and leave the masses to fend for themselves!