High-level Canadian and U.S. defense officials meeting in Helena this week to discuss common issues facing their countries and their 3,995 miles of shared border said the nations have made great strides in protecting North America against terrorists.

Still, they acknowledge that more needs to be done.

Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel R. Wood is a principal adviser to Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command. Wood said both the U.S. and Canada are concerned about international terrorists, drug smuggling and illegal aliens.

"We're talking about how that can affect both nations," Wood said on Tuesday at Fort Harrison. "We're looking at how people can get in through the seams (between legal border crossings) ... and trying to find where those seams are and where we can plug them."

Eric Christensen is the first chief warrant officer for the newly formed Canada Command, which was created 18 months ago to address the realities of the new international security environment, and to place greater emphasis on the defense of Canada and North America.

He said that while the two North American nations' defense structure is different, their main goals are the same: to protect the people from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

Both men agree that more needs to be done along the border to keep their countries safe. But they're quick to add they need balance of national security and the free movement of neighbors from one country into another.

"We are two free nations based on the concept of liberty. We can't give that up, but we can make reasonable operations to manage border crossings and do it with legal means," Wood said. "Will some get through? Yes. But when they move farther into our nations, our law enforcement agencies will catch them."

Christensen added that neither country wants to build something like the Berlin Wall, with dogs and fences separating the two nations.

"People still wanted to get across the Berlin Wall, and they did," Christensen said. "It's impossible to be 100 percent secure. We just have to be a little more vigilant since 9/11."

They key, they said, is communication and collaboration. That's not always easy between nations, especially when those countries sometimes have trouble sharing information among their own agencies.

"But as soldiers, we have always trusted one another," Christensen said. "The collaboration between the two nations' military is fabulous."

"And we have come a long way with working with each other," Wood adds quickly.

Christensen said he believes the perception that drugs like marijuana flow from Canada into the U.S., while cocaine and guns flow north into Canada, is incorrect. In his opinion, there's an equal amount of smuggling between the two countries.

He said Canadians also take umbrage at the commonly held belief that Canada is home to more terrorist cells than the U.S., allowing them to flourish until the next time an attack is made in the states.

"Canada as a whole is concerned about the border -- not just north and south, but the people coming in from either side," Christensen said. "There's no doubt there are sleeper units in Canada, but they're also in the United States."

Wood said while it may seem as though the U.S.-Mexico border has more security measures in place, a large part of that is only perception.

"It may not be as publicized, but we have been making an ongoing effort through the Joint Task Force North to assist on the northern border; maybe not as much as down south, but they also generate more news down south, with the cartels and violent crimes," Wood said. "But there is attention and efforts on the northern border."

Christensen noted that Helena is the perfect place for the inaugural meeting between the two countries' defense officials, since this is where the Devil's Brigade -- a World War II fighting force made up of men from the two countries -- was created.

After he and Wood began talking about their nation's similar security issues about a year ago, they decided to bring together people from their agencies and other law enforcement groups, including the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office. Wood said Helena became the site for what he hopes will be an annual event after he brought up the issue with a top U.S. Army National Guard officer.

"He had recently been here and seen the Montana border, and said it was the perfect place to describe the issues and problems with the border," Wood said. "... The threats against both nations are equal."

Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com.