Think tank: Domestic emergency plans need work - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Think tank: Domestic emergency plans need work

The Army should change the way it plans for domestic emergencies to better support state and local first responders, according to a new Rand Corp. report.

Rand researchers, who studied lessons from Hurricane Katrina, recommend the Army create 10 regional task forces in the National Guard to focus on preparing for and responding quickly to future emergencies at home.

The Guard also should formally be given the federal mission to conduct homeland security activities, just as it does for counter-drug operations, according to the report.

“We believe the best way to improve the Army’s response to domestic disasters is to empower the National Guard for a regional focus,” Lynn Davis, lead author of the report, said in a press release. “The experience of Hurricane Katrina also demonstrates that new strategies are needed to prepare Army forces of all types for domestic emergencies.”

The most important problem in the Katrina response was how quickly local, state and federal civilian organizations were overwhelmed, but the military response also had shortcomings in the critical first few days, according to the report.

The Rand report suggests that each of these Guard regional task forces be responsible for one of the 10 multi-state planning regions used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The 900-member task forces would be able to respond to disasters within 18 hours to provide support to local and regional civilian agencies that are the first on the scene.

“There was plenty of warning before Katrina and the nation’s response fell short for those stranded in the New Orleans Superdome and convention center and in homes across Mississippi and Louisiana,” Davis said. “There may be no warning before future domestic emergencies, particularly those that may be caused by terrorists.”

Other recommendations in the report, which was prepared for the Army by the Rand Arroyo Center, include:

• Making each Guard unit capable of rapid deployment and having governors ready to call up units and not just wait for volunteers.

• Establishing plans to use the Air National Guard or commercial air services to fly designated National Guard units to out-of-state emergencies.

• Creating programs that allow the regional task forces to train regularly with local first responders, including law enforcement officials and other units that are focused on counterterrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

• Giving the National Guard a federal mission for homeland security to help provide access to the funding needed to create the regional task forces and for training.

The study, “Hurricane Katrina: Lessons for Army Planning and Operations,” is online at http://www.rand.org.