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JOINT STATEMENT OF

MS. PAMELA B. BERKOWSKY

ASSISTANT TO THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR CIVIL SUPPORT

MR. CHARLES CRAGIN

PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RESERVE AFFAIRS

BEFORE THE

UNITED STATES SENATE

COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES

March 24, 2000

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and other distinguished members of this subcommittee. Thank you for the invitation to testify before you today on the Department of Defense's continuing efforts to ensure a strong national defense against acts of terrorism directed at the United States, territories and possessions. We commend you for addressing the complex topic of Consequence Management, and in particular, how the Department of Defense (DoD) can provide assistance to the Lead Federal Agencies in response to state and local authorities' requests for assistance in mitigating the consequences of a domestic nuclear, chemical, biological, radiological or high yield explosive incident. We appreciate your continuing support for this important effort.

At DoD, we define Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) consequence management as emergency assistance to protect public health and safety, restore essential government services, and provide emergency relief to those affected by the consequences of an incident involving WMD agents, whether they are released deliberately, naturally, or accidentally. Consequence management is one element of the Department's approach to combating terrorism. However, consequence management is unique in that we do not distinguish whether or not an event has actually been caused by terrorists because we may not know the exact cause during the initial response period.

Our testimony today will first briefly describe federal response preparations, and DoD's role therein. We will then provide an overview of the new initiatives the Department has undertaken in the last year in this area, including the establishment of the position of Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Civil Support, and the stand-up of the Joint Task Force for Civil Support at Joint Forces Command.

Presidential Decision Directive (PDD-62): (Protection Against Unconventional Threats to the Homeland and Americans Overseas) reaffirmed the United States Counterterrorism Policy in PDD-39 (U.S. Policy on Counterterrorism) and expanded on the need to respond to the growing possibility of asymmetrical assaults on U.S. vulnerabilities at home and abroad through the terrorist use of WMD and cyber warfare. Discussion of consequence management in response to a significant terrorist incident was included in PDD-62. Guidance embedded in PDD-62 provided the basis for all current federal response mechanisms to include the Department of Defense.

When viewed together, these two directives delineate responsibility throughout the U.S. government and they underscore the fact that no one single agency or Department holds all the cards. Rather, there are policy, technical, operational, law enforcement, R&D, and intelligence elements, among others, that must be coordinated and integrated.

PDD 62 also established, at the National Security Council, a National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection and Counterterrorism at the National Security Council who, among other things, focuses on ensuring our preparedness to respond to WMD incidents. In 1999, Secretary Cohen appointed a corresponding Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Civil Support (ATSD(CS)) within DoD to focus specifically on WMD consequence management. The ATSD(CS) represents DoD on the interagency WMD Preparedness Group, the forum for bringing together the more than 20 agencies and departments that have capabilities and expertise in this area.

In the event of an incident, we recognize that those closest to the problem are going to be the first to respond, but the presumption is that in the event of a catastrophic incident, those state and local capabilities may be quickly overwhelmed. If a civilian authority requests federal support, the lead federal agency, FBI or FEMA, is likely to request support from other federal agencies, including DoD.

In recognition of that likelihood, and in the wake of PDD-62, we have undertaken a number of steps within the Department to address this critical area. First, we have sought to define more clearly what the Department's role should - and should not - be. We do not call consequence management "Homeland Defense," but refer to it rather as "civil support." This reflects the fundamental principle that DoD is not in the lead, but is there to support the lead federal agency in the event of a domestic contingency. Likewise, we are sensitive to the concerns of civil libertarians and others regarding DoD's possible domestic role. Our belief is that the greater threat to civil liberties would be to do nothing at all - to fail to plan and prepare and leave the President with limited options.

Four principles will guide DoD's response in the event of a domestic WMD contingency. These have been clearly articulated by the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense. First, there will be an unequivocal chain of accountability and authority for all military support to civil authorities. Second, DoD's role is to provide support to the lead federal agency. Third, though our capabilities are primarily warfighting capabilities, the expertise that we have gained as a result of the threats we have faced overseas can be leveraged in the domestic arena as well. DoD also brings communications, logistics, transportation and medical assets, among others that can be used for civil support. Fourth, our response will necessarily be grounded in the National Guard and Reserves as our "forward deployed" forces for domestic operations.

A number of organizational initiatives have been undertaken at DoD recently to enhance our ability to support the lead federal agency for domestic consequence management. First, the Secretary of Defense established the position of Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Civil Support in October 1999. Through a coordinating body comprised of the Assistant Secretaries for Health Affairs; Reserve Affairs; Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict; Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence; and Legislative Affairs; the General Counsel; the Deputy Under Secretaries for Comptroller and for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics; and senior representatives from the Joint Staff, the Department of the Army, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the ATSD(CS) is able to leverage the existing organization while providing unity of focus and a single internal and external focal point for the Department's consequence management efforts.

On an operational level, as part of the 1999 revision to the Unified Command Plan, DoD also established the Joint Task Force-Civil Support at U.S. Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia. It is currently commanded by an Army National Guard Brigadier General. JTF-Civil Support (JTF-CS) is a small standing headquarters element with the mandate to establish the doctrine, plan, coordinate and prepare DoD Active and Reserve forces required for a response to a domestic WMD incident. Admiral Gehman is here today to provide more information about the JTF-CS and DoD's overall operational response. Consistent with our principle of ensuring an unequivocal chain of accountability and authority, the ATSD(CS) provides civilian oversight for JTF-CS.

A key programmatic undertaking for DoD is the Domestic Preparedness Program (DPP), created by the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996, also known as the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Act. The Act directed the Department of Defense, among other things, to develop and conduct training for those on the front lines who would respond to domestic incidents involving WMD. To date, over 20,000 first responder trainers in more than 74 major cities have received domestic preparedness training as part of this program.

We anticipate that the President will soon direct the transfer of responsibility for portions of the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici DPP from the Department of Defense to the Department of Justice, effective October 1, 2000. With the President's re-designation of the Attorney General as the Lead Federal Official, the Department of Justice will be responsible for national domestic preparedness programs for combating terrorism.

In FY 2000, $31.4 million was appropriated to the Department of Defense to execute the DPP in FY 2000. In FY 2001, DoD will require $11.6 million to continue its support for those portions of the program that also support the Department's force protection and domestic preparedness objectives. This includes continued responsibility for updating and supporting a chemical-biological database and an equipment testing program which is used in the development of the interagency's Standard Equipment List. DoD will also support those portions of the DPP's Improved Response Program that are expected to enhance the readiness of our DoD response units and installation responders. DoD will also continue to conduct a Federal, State, and Local exercise, as well as sustain a dedicated domestic WMD incident response capability.

The DoD is also an active interagency partner in the medical and non-medical R&D arenas for domestic WMD consequence management; with the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs on certain issues relating to vaccine and pharmaceutical production and stockpiling, and with many players on modeling and simulation, decontamination, detection, and identification systems, among others.

As stated earlier, the National Guard and Reserves will play a prominent support role for state and local authorities in consequence management. At its core is the establishment of 27 WMD Civil Support Teams (formerly known as Rapid Assessment and Initial Detection teams) comprised of 22 highly skilled, full-time, well-trained and equipped Army and Air National Guard personnel. The WMD Civil Support Teams will deploy to assist local first responders in determining the precise nature of an attack, provide medical and technical advice, and help pave the way for the identification and arrival of follow-on state and federal military response assets.

Each of the initial ten WMD Civil Support Teams is stationed within one of the ten Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions, and all ten of them are expected to be fully operational by spring of this year. Congress authorized an additional 17 WMD Civil Support Teams to be fielded in FY 2000. After an extensive stationing analysis, the Secretary of the Army recommended, and the Secretary Defense approved, the stationing locations of these new teams on January 13, 2000. We expect the additional 17 to be fully operational in FY 2001.

The WMD Civil Support Teams are unique because of their federal-state relationship. They are federally resourced, federally trained, and expected to operate under federal doctrine. But, they will perform their mission primarily under the command and control of the governors of the states in which they are located. Operationally, they fall under the command and control of the Adjutants General of those states. As a result, they will be available to respond to an incident as part of a state response, well before federal response assets would be called upon to provide assistance. The FY 2000 funding for these teams is $74.7 million, while the FY 2001 budget request is $47.9.

During FY 2000, DoD will also complete the training and equipping of 127 chemical decontamination and 43 reconnaissance elements units in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard. Medical Patient Decontamination Teams in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve will receive additional training in domestic response casualty decontamination. They will be provided with both military and commercial off-the-shelf equipment, and will receive enhanced training in civilian HAZMAT procedures.

This enhanced training and equipment will improve the readiness of these units to perform their warfighting mission, while allowing them to respond effectively to a domestic emergency, if needed. The Reserve component WMD consequence management funding for FY 2000 is $116.4 million, while the FY 2001 budget request is $74.8 million. The WMD Civil Support Teams' budget discussed earlier is included in these figures.

Thank you again for the opportunity to testify before this subcommittee and provide you with an overview of our approach to civil support and WMD consequence management. The Department of Defense is committed to working with its interagency partners, Congress and particularly the members of this subcommittee to establish and maintain effective programs and policies that will enhance the preparedness, at all levels of government, to respond to and mitigate the awful consequences of a domestic WMD incident. We look forward to answering any questions you may have.