Gen. Ralph Eberhart

or the first time since George Washington took command of the new Continental Army on June 15, 1775, a single military commander is in charge of homeland defense.

That commander is Air Force Gen. Ralph "Ed" Eberhart, the first to head the Northern Command. NORTHCOM was created in October 2002 to counter threats and aggression against the United States and help civil authorities respond to attacks or natural disasters. It consolidates several organizations, including the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Joint Task Force Civil Support, and anti-drug activities formerly assigned to the Joint Forces Command.

Headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, NORTHCOM has a relatively small staff-about 500 civilian and uniformed personnel at headquarters-and focuses on coordinating military activities with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (now part of Homeland Security) and first responders at the state and local levels. In general, the command will act only when a state governor requests help. In such cases, it will use military personnel from any-or all-of the armed services.

NORTHCOM is analyzing risks and developing working relationships with more than 50 civilian and military agencies so that it can respond swiftly to save lives and minimize destruction, Eberhart told a Colorado newspaper. Employees of the FBI, CIA, the State Department and Defense agencies are assigned to the command.

The highly decorated Eberhart flew more than 300 combat missions in Vietnam after graduating from the Air Force Academy. He commanded the 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing during Operation Desert Shield. Afterward, he worked at the Pentagon, commanded all U.S. forces in Japan and then became Air Force vice chief of staff.

He had headed the U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command as well as NORAD by the time he was tapped for the NORTHCOM post.