Air Force Gen. Gregory M. Guillot is back in Colorado and behind the reins North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.

Guillot assumed command of NORAD and NORTHCOM from Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck during a change of command ceremony at Peterson Space Force Base on Monday. VanHerck had led the organizations since August 2020.

NORAD, established in 1958 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a joint U.S.-Canadian organization responsible for “missions of aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning for North America,” according to NORAD’s website. NORTHCOM is one of the 11 unified combatant commands of the Defense Department, responsible for North America including homeland defense.

This is Guillot’s second assignment at the Colorado base, having served as NORTHCOM’s director of operations from June 2019 to June 2020, according to a NORTHCOM news release. His last role was deputy commander of U.S. Central Command.

“The discipline of joint and multinational men and women serving in these commands is the reason for its unquestionable success,” Guillot said at the ceremony. “Their care and professional growth will always be a priority under my command, and I pledge to each member to devote my full effort to leading them the way they deserve to be led. As I assume command today, the scope and importance of our homeland defense mission is not lost on me.”

Guillot graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989 and commissioned into the Air Force. He completed undergraduate pilot training at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona in 1990, followed by the undergraduate controller course at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. His previous assignments include commander of the 9th Air Force (Air Forces Central), chief of staff of Headquarters Pacific Air Forces in Hawaii and commander of the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, according to an Air Force biography.

Canadian Minister of National Defence Bill S. Blair, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks, Canadian Armed Forces Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne D. Eyre and U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown were distinguished guests at the ceremony. Eyre officiated the NORAD change of command, while Hicks officiated the NORTHCOM change of command.

“Gen. Glen VanHerck’s leadership of NORAD-NORTHCOM has enhanced our national security and deepened our ties with our neighbor, Canada,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I want to thank him for his three decades of military service and leadership and welcome Gen. Greg Guillot as the next commander of @USNorthernCmd.”

VanHerck is retiring after more than 36 years of service, according to the release.

“You, the men and women of NORAD and USNORTHCOM, changed the defense dialogue in Canada and the United States, driving investments and policy,” he said at the ceremony. “You operationalized the commands and established a Joint Operations Center. Through the execution of four global information dominance experiments, you proved digital transformation can lead to decision superiority.”

Under VanHerck, NORAD and NORTHCOM conducted homeland defense efforts against Russian long-range aviation activities, North Korean ballistic missile launches and Chinese maritime operations. VanHerck led defense support to the U.S. coronavirus response, and oversaw the arrival of more than 76,000 Afghan refugees to the U.S. during Operation Allies Welcome. He was in charge when NORTHCOM shot down the Chinese surveillance balloon in early 2023.

“A strong homeland defense is the foundation of our nation’s ability to project power globally and achieve our strategic objectives in competition, crisis and conflict,” Brown said at the ceremony. “As the NORAD and USNORTHCOM commander, Glen has worked diligently to enforce that foundation. He has worked tirelessly to protect our homeland and our way of life.”

Military