The Evolution Of Dual Status Command Authorities: A New Construct For Implementation
Abstract
Neither the United States government nor the Department of Defense has ever achieved unity of command during an unplanned or unforeseen multistate domestic incident. Why is unity of command important during response operations? Joint Publication 3-0, offers the following guidance, Unified action is a comprehensive approach that synchronizes, coordinates, and when appropriate, integrates military operations with the activities of other governmental and nongovernmental organizations to achieve unity of effort.1 The absence of unity of command creates second and third order effects that detract from the accomplishment of assigned missions and may lead to mission failure. The primary impediment to achieving unity of command is a reluctance of the individual state governors and the president to relinquish control of their assigned forces. Through case studies, this paper examines the reluctance of civil authorities to relinquish control of their assigned forces. It also looks at the current Dual Status Commander (DSC) authorities and proposes an updates an evolution of these authorities. In conclusion, a structure is introduced, Domestic Control (DOCON), that intends to address the statutory limitations to unity of command. Achieving unity of command culminates in unity of effort. Following any large-scale domestic incident, a unified effort is required to resolve the incident successfully and to minimize loss of life and property.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 13, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1036952
Entities
People
- Trent O Dudley
Organizations
- Air War College