Before the Next Hurricane Katrina: A Strategic Approach to Enhancing Military Capabilities

Abstract

In many ways the greatest threat to America s national security remains the readiness and resiliency of the homeland. Seven years after Hurricane Katrina, serious questions persist about the roles and readiness of the Department of Defense to respond to a catastrophic natural or manmade disaster. While several advances have been successfully implemented in civil support preparedness, it can be argued that the U.S. military s core doctrine, policies and posture have not significantly changed. Domestic preparedness, planning, and resourcing remain an afterthought well behind the war fight. A collaborative, strategic approach leveraging Total Force principles and experience from the war fight is needed within the Army to enhance available land force capacity. Pre-event planning, requirements identification, unit identification and training, intergovernmental relationships, response design, and component force mix and roles must all be strategically considered. As the nation enters a persistent era of significantly constrained resources, the Department of Defense, and the Army in particular, can no longer afford to rest domestic mission readiness solely on the preparations for war.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 14, 2012
Accession Number
ADA592641

Entities

People

  • John T. Wiltse

Organizations

  • Old Dominion University

Tags

Communities of Interest

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

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Disasters
  • Emergency Response
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Homeland Defense
  • Homeland Security
  • Military Science
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Public Administration
  • Public Policy
  • United States Government
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Economics
  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies