The Military and Domestic Disaster Response: Lead Role Revealed Through the Eye of Hurricane Katrina?
Abstract
The traditional role of the active-duty military force at home is one of support to a civilian Lead Federal Agency (LFA) that primarily falls under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). During emergencies military domestic assistance is historically provided when local state and federal resources have been overwhelmed. During and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina however the slow and perceived inept response to the massive disaster prompted a national debate on the appropriate role of the military in major domestic disasters. Many concerned with the federal response to Katrina believed that America's homeland security system could not aptly respond to a large- scale natural or man-made catastrophe without the military in a lead role. Defining the roles and understanding the responsibilities of the Department of Defense (DOD) within the National Response Plan (NRP) is an important first step toward an effectively coordinated Federal disaster response. The purpose of this research is to explore the role of the active-duty military in domestic disaster response using Hurricane Katrina to determine if the DOD and DHS response was implemented according to the NRP. This research will help to explain the role that the military plays in supporting the civilian LFA in disaster response.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA462715
Entities
People
- Juliana M. Walker
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School