A NORAD Response to Intrusion

Working in my office one recent July morning,I heard a loud jet aircraft engine.It must be a fighter protecting Camp David,I thought.Indeed,a few moments later I observed the hefty warplane,an F-15E,heading south towards the presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains.
The F-15E was actually one of two NORAD fighters that were intercepting a civilian plane intruding on restricted air space over and near the weekend White House.The NORAD interceptors escorted the intruder to Carroll County Regional Airport in Maryland.The pilot was interviewed by the U.S. Secret Service there and released,it having been determined he was blundering into the forbidden zone out of ignorance.A lengthy suspension of his pilot's certificate-typically 120 to 180 days-would follow.
There is always a 3 nautical mile/6.5 mile diameter prohibited area over the camp.When the president is at Camp David,the zone is expanded to 10 nautical miles/22 miles.Five of the nautical miles are totally off-limits;the outer 5 nautical miles are limited to specially cleared aircraft in communication with air traffic control,which the intruding Cessna 182 was not.
U.S. Marine guards provide terrestrial security at Camp David,which is administered by the U.S. Navy.
NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defense Command,a joint U.S.-Canadian organization that is charged with monitoring and defending the air,space and,more recently,the maritime,approaches and domains of the continent.It is based at Peterson Air Force Base,Colorado.Admiral James A. Winnefeld,U.S. Navy,is Commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command,while Canadian Lieutenant-General J.M. Duval,CMM,CD is Deputy Commander of NORAD.The organization was established in 1958 and was formerly based in the hardened Cheyenne Mountain Air Station.Today,the mountain site is used by NORAD for training and as an alternate HQ,and day to day operations are conducted at Peterson AFB.
NORAD received heightened relevance during the 9-11 crisis,its Cold War urgency having passed from the scene as the Communist Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact disintegrated.