Homeland Defense and Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction: Are National Guard Civil Support Teams a Necessary Asset or Duplication of Effort
Abstract
The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing maximized America's awareness of its vulnerability to terrorist activities, and erased the nation's sense of security that terrorist attacks could not occur within the United States. As a result, the possibility of such bombings, to include weapons of mass destruction (WMD), could no longer be ignored. In May 1998, the president issued presidential Decision Directive (PDD) 62, which established policy and assigned responsibilities for responding to homeland attacks. It directed the Department of Justice (FBI) to assume the lead for such circumstances and it also identified the National Guard as playing an important role in this program. The National Guard established Civil Support Teams in each of the ten FEMA regions to assist state and local first responders in a WMD incident. In May 1999, a US General Accounting Office report on federal government efforts to combat terrorism indicated that the role of National Guard Civil Support Teams remained unclear and there is significant redundancy in response capabilities. This paper examines whether there is a continued need for the National Guard Civil Support Teams, and explains how they fit into Federal, State, and local response plans.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 16, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA381637
Entities
People
- Kevin R. Mcbride
Organizations
- Naval War College