The Military Partnerships

Partnership of US Military with Other Private and State Organizations

How would you include the Department of Defense in your Emergency Response Plan? Or, would you?

September 11 attacks on United States have put Department of Defense in a wider context of Homeland Security. The 9/11 terrorist attacks has shows that sometimes during these national emergencies, the civilian capability is not enough to effectively respond and tackle with such kinds of man-made disasters such as terrorist attacks.

Lack of effective response on the part of civilian authorities increases the probability of extensive property damage and/or serious danger to human life. In the wake of any terrorist attacks which can result in the exhaustion of all the resources possessed by civilian governments (State and local) and a failure to effectively deal with them, I will definitely include Department of Defense in my Emergency Response plan which can help my government to gain access to the additional resources and capabilities Department of Defense offers in the military assistance during civil emergencies (FEMA, 2012). Specific actions to be taken on the part of civilian as well as military authorities will be determined by the level of efforts required to either eliminate the threat altogether or mitigate its effects on the property and human lives.

Constitutionally speaking, I can include Department of Defense under the following specific laws and regulations governing the provision of Military Support to Civil Authorities.

Title 42, United States Code 5121, The Stafford Act

D. Air Force instruction 32-4001

Title V, Public Law No. 101-165

Air National Guard Instruction 10-8101

Department of Defense Directive 3025.1

E Air Force Instruction 10-802

These laws requires Governor of the State in which terrorist attacks have taken place to first declare the state of emergency and then the National Guard will be activated by the officials of the state and a county or counties. In the emergency response plan, these officials will have to follow the constitutional procedures needed to formally request the military assistance from the Federal and/or State agencies, the level and type of assistance that should be provided and the relationship the local civil authorities and the military commander will form constitutionally after the provision of military assistance (NDU, 1996).

In the emergency response plan, the request to provide military assistance will be originated from the local government directly to the Department of Defense. DoD will then follow its own constitutional procedures to send down the assistance request to its subordinate State Military Department after learning the required level and nature of assistance (Ground Military Units or Air Military Units, How many of them etc.) directly from the local government or governments. This channel of request will be process all the procedures as immediately as possible to minimize the threat of great loss of property or lives (Seiple, 1996).

In my Emergency Response Plan, the Board of Commissioners or Jurisdictional elected officials of the county where terrorist attack has taken place will be consulted who will review and recommend the required level and nature of military assistance ...