Chapter Appendix A - Recommendations
Section Contents
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Critical Challenge: Integrated Use of Military Capabilities
Lesson Learned: The Departments of Homeland Security and Defense should jointly plan for the Department of Defense’s support of Federal response activities as well as those extraordinary circumstances when it is appropriate for the Department of Defense to lead the Federal response. In addition, the Department of Defense should ensure the transformation of the National Guard is focused on increased integration with active duty forces for homeland security plans and activities.
Recommendations:
22. DOD and DHS should develop recommendations for revision of the NRP to delineate the circumstances, objectives, and limitations of when DOD might temporarily assume the lead for the Federal response to a catastrophic incident. Katrina demonstrated the importance of prior planning for rapid and complex response efforts. DOD should develop plans to lead the Federal response for events of extraordinary scope and nature (e.g., nuclear incident or multiple simultaneous terrorist attacks causing a breakdown in civil society).
23. DOD should revise its Immediate Response Authority (IRA) policy to allow commanders, in appropriate circumstances, to exercise IRA even without a request from local authorities. DOD should work with DHS and State officials to improve integration of military response capabilities.
24. DOD and DHS should plan and prepare for a significant DOD supporting role during a catastrophic event. DOD’s joint operational response doctrine is an integral part of the national effort and must be fully integrated into the national response at all levels of government. DOD should have a contingency role and a requirement to assist DHS with expertise in logistics, planning, and total asset visibility. DOD should coordinate with DHS and DOT to identify DOD’s contingency role in airport operations and evacuations, and the planning and use of Ready Reserve Fleet vessels for housing, evacuation, communications, command, control, and logistics. The NRP and Catastrophic Incident Supplement (CIS) should specify the specific requirements for DOD resources based on the magnitude and type of a catastrophic event.
25. DOD should provide support from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) as part of overall DOD support to DHS under the NRP to provide technical skills, situational awareness, imagery support, analysis and assessment for responding to catastrophic events. Requests for situational awareness capabilities should follow DOD processes for asset allocation. DOD will ensure requests for assistance are identified and satisfied for access to NGA, NSA and other Combat Support Agency’s capabilities. NGA and NSA have significant technical capabilities that should be integrated into the Nation’s preparation and response efforts. NGA and NSA have the capability to rapidly provide situational awareness and analysis. The response to Hurricane Katrina highlighted that NGA and NSA possess unique capabilities that can be utilized in homeland missions, to include severe weather events. The NSA was instrumental in matching up missing family members, and the NGA provided valuable overhead imagery of the disaster site. Defined roles in homeland security missions will allow for these capabilities to be better budgeted, developed, and ultimately leveraged. In support of missions in the homeland where DHS is the Primary Federal Agency, DHS should levy tasking requirements. These agencies have established relationships with governmental and private/commercial entities, which can be integrated as part of a larger national response effort. NGA and NSA roles and support to the homeland security mission should be added into the agencies’ core mission statements. NGA and NSA support should be coordinated with civil agencies providing geospatial support and analysis, including the U.S. Geological Survey. These agencies need resources to perform homeland security functions. In order to meet these new mission requirements these agencies need to expand from a legacy focus of being a producer to a broader role as a service provider.
26. Set standards for “pushing” the pre-positioning of Federal assets to States and locals, in the case of an imminent catastrophe. DHS should create a civil operational planning capability to push assets that is robust, agile, and deployable; otherwise, the response will rely heavily on DOD capabilities. Factors slowing delivery of commodities require review and solutions adapted prior to future disasters. DHS should include much better planning efforts between State and Federal emergency management logisticians and operations personnel, the assistance and advice of DOD strategic logistics planners, and more robust private sector partnerships. DHS should mandate the use of pre-competed private sector contracts for capabilities ranging from airlift to advanced communications and life support and have available a rapid response capability similar to DOD. Federal funding should be predicated on States entering into their own contractual agreements, pre-crisis, with the private sector for procurement and delivery of commodities.
27. In addition to the National Guard, the other Reserve Components of the military services should modify their organization and training to include a priority mission to prepare and deploy in support of homeland security missions. Reserve components historically have focused on military and war fighting missions, which will continue; however, we should recognize that the Reserve components are too valuable a skilled and available resource at home not to be ready to incorporate them in any Federal response planning and effort. Additionally, efforts should be made to leverage Reserve civilian skills in disaster relief efforts.
28. DOD should consider fully resourcing the JTF State Headquarters to address capabilities gaps and to enhance readiness. Enhance National Guard capabilities by resourcing and fully implementing Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ) State. JFHQ-State transformation is key to rapid deployment of National Guard forces in response to a catastrophe.
The transformation of JFHQ-State and other National Guard capabilities for homeland security missions will ensure response forces are available in each DHS region. These capabilities should support NRP requirements including: security, maintenance, aviation, engineer, medical, communications, transportation, and logistics. The National Guard should develop rapid reaction forces capable of responding to an incident within 24 hours. This is vital to future rapid deployment of National Guard forces in response to a catastrophe. This transformation, as it nears completion, must continue to take root within DOD.
JFHQ State will provide the command structure in which to lead and direct arriving Federal response capabilities, forming the backbone of State Incident Command System (ICS) and, as a result, the Federal Joint Field Office (JFO). It will facilitate unity of effort and provide the situational awareness needed for an effective response. To that end, the Command, Control, Communications, and Information (C3I) structure must be interoperable and satisfy a common set of mission essential tasks.
29. Develop the capability to rapidly activate a JTF-State for contingencies.JTF-State is a forward deployed command group that can stage assets (by conducting reception, staging, onward movement, and integration); provide situational awareness and initial command and control for both State governors (for National Guard troops) and USNORTHCOM (for Federal active duty troops); and provide State level components to a Federal active duty JTF, should one be required. JTF-State coordinates with USNORTHCOM and State authorities to ensure the application of the full capability of the Joint Force for domestic response missions. A key component of the JTF-State should be the State’s WMD CSTs. The option to expanding the role of the CSTs to an all-hazards response team should be explored. This may require additional resources, but would improve situational awareness and command and control capabilities at the State level.
A JTF-State model streamlines the command structure exercising command and control over all assigned forces supporting civil authorities. The JTF command and control architecture should provide a wide network to build a single common operating picture that increases situational awareness and redundancy. The JTF should assume command and control of Federal active duty forces and National Guard forces from other States. As part of the JFHQ State, the JTF maintains and provides trained and equipped forces and capabilities. If and when necessary, this JTF model enables a National Guard Commander familiar with State and local area of operations to serve both in a Federal and State status providing both unity of effort and unity of command for Federal and State forces.
30. DOD should consider assigning additional personnel (to include General officers) from the National Guard and the reserves of the military services to USNORTHCOM to achieve enhanced integration of Active and reserve component forces for homeland security missions.
31. DOD should support DHS development of an analysis and operational planning capability to enable DHS to predict detailed requirements and plan for specific actions needed to respond to future disasters. This DOD/DHS element should assess past catastrophic disasters and the successes and failures of the overall responses to those events. This information should inform detailed planning for future disaster response, and allow determination of specific decision points to aid rapid decision making. Ultimately a fully mature DHS planning capability should have additional utility by deploying during future catastrophic events and translating initial damage assessments into accurate needs assessments for local, State and Federal authorities.
32. DOD should consider chartering the NGB as a joint activity of the DOD. Responsibilities should include:
a. Serve as the focal point in developing, managing, and integrating employment of joint National Guard capabilities for the Joint Staff and the Departments of the Army and Air Force in support of the Combatant Commands.
b. Act as the DOD channel of communication to and from the National Guard of the States and Territories.
c. Support all Combatant Commanders in developing joint operational requirements for contingency and response plans. Specifically support U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM), USNORTHCOM, U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM), U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) and the States and Territories in developing strategy and contingency plans for homeland defense missions.
d. Administer Army and Air Force programs; acquire, distribute, and manage resources; plan, coordinate, and provide situational awareness and other support to the Combatant Commanders.
Contents
Prev
Next
Last
