National Guard Homeland Defense Division Filling the Gap in Weapons of Mass Destruction Defense

Abstract

Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) pose a new and significant threat to American security. The nation does not presently possess the ability to adequately deal with this threat. Congress has tasked DoD to develop capabilities to deal with this threat. In particular, DoD has undertaken programs to train those who will initially respond to a WMD attack (preparedness) and to form units with technical WMD skills to assist in a larger federal relief effort (response). DoD's present concept for preparedness and response is not adequate to provide a long term, comprehensive defense. The preparedness program has a narrow focus and ignores necessary refresher training. The DoD response does little more than add small technical units to the current disaster relief (DR) structure. DR is an ad hoc organizational response that cannot react quickly to a WMD incident. The DR structure is composed of units dispersed throughout DoD components and commands, and responsible to different authorities. The National Guard can, if properly structured, provide genuine WMD homeland defense. Its inherent strengths and characteristics make it the force of choice for this mission. Its integration with state agencies makes it a model for civil military interagency cooperation, and its infrastructure is a well positioned base to establish a comprehensive WMD defense throughout the nation. The National Guard should be tasked with the WMD homeland defense mission. It should reorganize the two combat divisions and separate brigades not apportioned to current war plans into two Homeland Defense (HLD) Divisions. The HLD divisions should replace the two Response Task Forces presently established by U.S. Army Forces Command to manage the consequences of a WMD attack. They should be organized, trained and equipped specifically for WMD consequence management, and should become responsible for all military support operations within their regions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 27, 1999
Accession Number
ADA370350

Entities

People

  • Melvin G. Spiese

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Disasters
  • Emergency Response
  • Employment
  • Explosives
  • First Responders
  • Geographic Regions
  • Health Services
  • Homeland Defense
  • Law
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Guard
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Critical Infrastructure Protection in CBRN and WMD Threats.
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Strategic Security Studies