Active Component Rapid Response Force; The Answer to the Military's Issues with Efficient and Effective Support during Response to and Recovery from Incidents of National Significance?

Abstract

Since September 11, 2001 (9/11) heavy emphasis has been placed on securing the United States and its interests from terrorism. However, little emphasis has been placed on the importance of an efficient and effective response to incidents of national significance that do not fall into the realm of terrorist activity. The events of Hurricane Katrina brought to light significant response and recovery issues associated with emergency situations within the Continental United States (CONUS) and the efficiency of the federal military response. Through April 2006 the mainstay of guidance for the use of active military forces (Title 10) has been Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 3025.15 "Military Support to Civil Authorities" (MSCA). This directive includes a myriad of enclosures and supporting documents that outline when, where, and to what extent active military personnel can assist or support civil authorities. In an effort to streamline this effort, MSCA is currently under revision and will soon be published as "Defense Support of Civil Authorities" (DSCA). This new document attempts to mitigate some of the recurring issues regarding the use of active component forces and to provide a more succinct foundation for more efficient use of these forces. However, this revision will not be enough to improve the active military's response to, and support of, recovery from incidents of national significance without the development of a dedicated force designed to provide quick and efficient assessment of the situation and initial command and control. The recommendation of this research is the formation of dedicated Rapid Reaction Units (RRU) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These RRUs will be specially trained and equipped to respond to incidents of national significance.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 30, 2007
Accession Number
ADA470695

Entities

People

  • William W. Johnson

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Congress
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Emergency Response
  • Employment
  • Homeland Defense
  • Homeland Security
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Military History
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States Government
  • United States Northern Command
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control