The 21st-century world faces a complex set of challenges that do not fit into traditional categories. Historically, the U.S. homeland has been largely spared the catastrophic events seen in much of the rest of the world. However, the steady convergence of terrorism, hybrid threats and natural disasters—cou - pled with the instability and uncertainty of the global environment—requires the United States to prepare for contingencies on its own soil. Protecting citizens, mitigating the impacts of crises and preserving the American way of life are enduring Army concepts. These concepts require constant attention and the ability to anticipate and quickly respond to any type of mission, regardless of location.The Army’s vision of itself as part of the joint force through the year 2020 is supported by three pil - lars: prevent conflicts; shape the global environment to empower allies and partners to succeed; and win decisively when forced to fight. U.S. Army North (ARNORTH)/Fifth Army, the Army service compo - nent of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), is the only Army headquarters focused full-time on the “prevent” and “shape” aspects of homeland defense. U.S. Army North is dedicated to building security co - operation partnerships with Mexico, Canada and the Bahamas and supporting domestic civil authorities. It can provide synchronized operational/logistical support for federal agencies engaged in consequence management; specialized disaster training; and com - mand and control capability anywhere within the United States. U.S. Army North is improving the en - during military-to-military relationships with border nations, growing the relationship with the reserve component—especially the National Guard—and strengthening the military-to-civilian relationships with federal, state and local authorities; together these relationships form the foundation of a deep and cred - ible protection of the homeland.