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Homeland Defense: Steps Have Been Taken to Improve U.S. Northern Command’s Coordination with States and the National Guard Bureau, but Gaps Remain
Title: Homeland Defense: Steps Have Been Taken to Improve U.S. Northern Command’s Coordination with States and the National Guard Bureau, but Gaps Remain
Date: April 16, 2008
Author: N/A
Institution: Government Accountability Organization
Bibliographic Entry: “Homeland Defense: Steps Have Been Taken to Improve U.S. Northern Command’s Coordination with States and the National Guard Bureau, but Gaps Remain.” Government Accountability Office. April 16, 2008.
Electronic Link: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08252.pdf
Key Words: National Guard, national defense operations, intergovernmental relations, emergency response procedures, defense contingency planning, civil support, civil defense
Summary of Key Points, Issues, Conclusions:
“In 2002, the Department of Defense (DOD) established U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) to conduct homeland defense and civil support missions on U.S. soil. It is particularly important that NORTHCOM coordinate with the National Guard Bureau (NGB), because NGB has experience dealing with state and local authorities during incidents and functions as NORTHCOM's formal link to the states.
NORTHCOM has several ongoing efforts to improve coordination with the states and NGB in planning for its missions and responding to requests for civil support. We identified gaps in coordination between NORTHCOM, the states, and NGB in three areas: (1) NORTHCOM officials minimally involved the states in the development of its homeland defense and civil support plans, (2) NORTHCOM was not familiar with state emergency response plans and has no process for obtaining this information, and (3) A 2005 agreement, which is intended to provide the procedures by which NORTHCOM and NGB interact, does not fully or clearly define each agency's roles and responsibilities for planning for homeland defense and civil support.”
Name of Researcher: Julie Curry
Institution: Integrative Center for Homeland Security, Texas A&M University
Date Posted: May 7, 2008