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Civil Support and the U.S. Army Newsletter

Newsletter 10-16
December 2009

Table of Contents

Foreword

This inaugural edition of the Civil Support and the U.S. Army Newsletter is intended to provide a forum for ongoing discussions and efforts balancing the involvement and participation of today's federal and state military forces on the "homeland battlefield." The "homeland battlefield" could be a coastal city hit by a catastrophic hurricane, a location on the U.S. border, a container and shipyard, a street riot in major city, a championship-level football game, a bridge collapse, or even a political party's convention.

Following a May 2009 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) meeting, President Obama stated, "True preparedness means having federal and state and local governments all coordinating effectively." What could once be characterized as a "hand-wave relationship" between the military and federal, state, and other civilian agencies and first responders for disasters or short-duration events now has become a full embrace to facilitate victory and survival. Additionally, since 9/11, the Department of Defense was tasked to ". . . provide forces and capabilities in support of domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, high-yield explosive consequence management, with an emphasis on preparing for multiple, simultaneous mass casualty incidents."

This collection of articles is a sampling of civil support, hot-button topics and will expose some of the differences among various federal, state, other civilian agencies and first responders, and the diverse challenges each face in their areas of responsibility.

The primary audience for this newsletter includes: Army leaders, planners, and operators; the Department of Homeland Security; U.S. Northern Command; U.S. Army North; FEMA; the National Guard Bureau; and other local, state, and federal governmental agencies executing defense support of civil authorities operations. Formation of new partnerships and relationships must occur, along with the creation of new proficiencies in training, rehearsals, and collaborative communications. These partnerships and relationships will promote an enhanced understanding of organizational capabilities and limitations.

Future volumes of this newsletter will continue to capture and solicit articles highlighting high-quality examples of civil support without inhibiting discussion on areas needing improvement. I trust you will find these articles informative and consider using them as desk references on these critical issues. Thank you for your inputs to date and I look forward to your future civil support contributions.

Download CALL 10-16 Newsletter [PDF 2.05MB]