Joint Task Force-North

'Joint Task Force-North (JTF North), based at Biggs Army Airfield, Fort Bliss, Texas, is the Department of Defense (DOD) organization tasked to support United States federal law enforcement agencies in the interdiction of suspected transnational threats within and along the approaches to the continental United States. It is commanded by brigadier general Sean MacFarland. Transnational threats are those activities conducted by individuals or groups that involve international terrorism, narco-trafficking, alien smuggling, weapons of mass destruction, and the delivery systems for such weapons that threaten the national security of the United States.

As directed, JTF North employs military capabilities to support law enforcement agencies and supports interagency synchronization within the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) area of responsibility to deter and prevent transnational threats to the homeland.

JTF North was originally established in 1989 as Joint Task Force Six (JTF-6), in response to President George H. W. Bush’s declaration of the “War on Drugs.” On Sept. 28, 2004, JTF-6 was renamed JTF North and its mission was expanded to include providing support to the nation’s federal law enforcement agencies.

JTF North is a joint service command made up of active duty and reserve component Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Department of Defense (DOD) civilian specialists. Their dedication to the security of our homeland is best summed up by JTF North’s motto, “Service to the Nation.”