NORAD, Northern Command to Cut 79 Positions as Part of Cost-Savings Measure

NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command will cut 79 positions as part of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' cost-savings initiative to improve efficiency that he issued late last year.

Commanders said 40 of the positions will be military and 39 will be civilian. Offices most directly affected include chaplains, history, surgeon general and control systems.

Most of the people who lose their jobs will be transferred to other posts in the military, and in some cases the military will help individuals find new employment, a NORAD spokesman told Fox News.

And some of the positions, which are currently vacant, simply will not be filled, the spokesman said.

This spokesman also said these changes will not reduce security over North American airspace.

All affected employees will received at least 60 days' notice of the final specific action.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command and Northern Command combined have about 1,600 U.S. military and U.S. civilian employees in Colorado Springs, home of Peterson Air Force Base, headquarters of both commands.

That doesn't include Canadians assigned to NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canada command responsible for defending both nations from air attack and for monitoring potential maritime threats.

Northern Command is responsible for the military defense of U.S. soil and supporting civilian agencies in natural or human-caused disasters.

Both operations fall under the same commander.

It's the first cutback since Northern Command was formed in response to the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Fox News' Justin Fishel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.