United States Military Response to Domestic Natural Disasters: Active and

Reserve Forces a Last Resort or an Inescapable Trend

Timothy Makori

Tim.makori@gmail.com

www.timtrends.wordpress.com

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Contents

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 2

Legal and National Frameworks.................................................................................................................... 3

Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 ........................................................................................................................ 4

Disaster Management Acts ........................................................................................................................... 5

Military’s Role in Disasters and Disaster Management Plans ....................................................................... 6

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 6

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Introduction

Authors and scholars have defined disasters as happenings, such as earthquakes or

floods, which lead to significant loss of life, disruption, or destruction of property.

Acknowledging the risk that serving soldiers of the United States Military could present to

innocuous civilians and the sovereignty reserved by the myriad states, but also conscious of the

need to avert against damage and provide rescue to disaster-struck communities, the

developers of the American Constitution integrated a checks and balances system to demarcate

the control of the army between the Congress and the President and to share the share the

governance of the paramilitaries with the states.1

Disaster prevention and management is a quintessential function of the administration

of a state or a country.2 Nonetheless, the United States military has been recurrently involved

in technological and natural disasters and Complex Human Emergency (CHE) relief efforts. The

United States Agency for International Development Office of disaster assistance office

(USAID/OFDA) often requests the U.S. military, through the U.S. Department of Defense, to

participate in international disasters.3 The same office, OFDA, calls upon the assistance of the

military in local eventualities that are beyond their handling capacities.4Scenes from recent

disasters such as the Hurricane Katrina depicted New Orleans citizens grappling because of

1 (Kapucu, 2011)

2 (Kapucu, 2011)

3 (Coppola, 2010)

4 (2006 Operational Law Handbook, n.d.)

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their insufficiency. Since that event, many legislators, plus the President, have requested for

superior military envelopment in disaster management roles.5

The United States has gone through devastating and debilitating disasters that have

reduced houses, roads, and other costly assets to mere debris. Weather related disasters such

as tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, have, at one time, caused the President to

present a record 99 declaration for disaster. Places such as the Indiana, Midwest, Illinois,

Missouri, Kentucky, and Kansas have all suffered devastation being reduced to wreckage. The

costs in damages suffered by the country reached record high in 2011 when over a third of

trillion in dollars succumbed to damages. During all these disasters and many others in

international scenes, the U.S. aircraft carriers loaded with supplies, equipment, and troops

showed up early, and assisted in rescuing survivors. Disaster relief appeared to be one of the

key aims of the United States military and thousands of citizens witnessed the softer side of the

soldiers.6

Legal and National Frameworks

It is vital to comprehend the past evolution of the roles of the soldiers with stress on the

present laws, documents, and national plans to appreciate the significance and central role of

the military in natural and manmade disasters.

5 Ronald J. Daniels, Donald F. Kettl, and Howard Kunreuther, On Risk and Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina

(University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011). 6 (Travis et al., 2013)

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Posse Comitatus Act of 1878

The process of involvement and the overall statutory inhibition of the army in the

domestic application of law enforcement and civilian activities are included in the Posse

Comitatus Act of 1878, 18 U.S.C § 1385. This particular act proscribes and limits the application

of the military (including any of its subunits) or the Air Force for purposes of law enforcement.

Nonetheless, there exist some few limitations and exceptions to the Posse Comitatus Act that

give troops the permission to serve in particular cases such as The National Guard labeled with

Title 32 and under state authority; capturing of aerial visual photographs, surveillance and

visual search; and participation in special investigations; inspections of the Department of

Defense; and Air and Navy Force offering assistance to the Federal Bureau of Investigations in

investigating the kidnapping, assassination, or assault of the United States President .7

The United States military may take part in law enforcement when the Act of Congress

or Constitution authorizes it to, which parallels the federalization of active and direct

involvement of the military within the enforcement of civilian law.8 The complexity, limitations,

and restrictions of the use of the Posse Comitatus Act, nonetheless, conjure ambiguity in

explaining the transparent and lucid boundaries of the involvement of the military procedures.

The Insurrection Act, which is doubled by the Posse Comitatus Act and presents as an exception

to the regulation, developed in 10 U.S.C. §§ 331-335 Sectors, permits the President, by the

appeal of the state governor in decentralization, to call and deploy the military for domestic

7 (BARAK, 2007)

8 Brake Jeffrey, CRS Report to Congress,“ (Washington DC, 2008).

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assistance and use in reinstatement of public order, averting disorder, domestic unrest, looting,

and other activities of law enforcement.9

Disaster Management Acts

The Federal Disaster Relief Act set much of the methodology through which the United

States carried out disaster management. The Act offered an orderly, continuing means of the

government to assist states as well as localities that suffered various eventualities because of

major disasters. Later, the framers of the constitution decided that the Disaster Relief Act of

1950 did not serve the country well in terms of addressing catastrophic disasters. For this

reason, they developed another Act in 1974 that required the federal government to provide

three quarters of the funding for programs administered by states following major disasters.

Today, America is guided by the Stafford Act as well as the Emergency Assistance Act, which

state that states, some non-profit organizations, and localities may use disaster management

funds to offer mass care, restore destroyed or damaged facilities, aid victims, help families,

clear debris, and mitigate the possibilities of future disasters.10The military may respond to

disasters under the provisions of this act by the appeal of DHS through the Department of

Defense. Additionally, the president has Constitutional powers to decide and issue a disaster

red-alert authorizing the best support to oversee and conduct rescue operations.11

9 Kerry B. Fosher, Under Construction: Making Homeland Security at the Local Level (University of Chicago Press,

2010). 10

Bruce R. Lindsay and Justin Murray, Disaster Relief Funding and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations (DIANE Publishing, 2011). 11

Kapucu, “The Role of the Military in Disaster Response in the US.”

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Military’s Role in Disasters and Disaster Management Plans

The public administration matters associated with the relevant and heightening role of

the military in disasters cannot be overelaborated. The difficulties of coordinating and

managing disasters pose a substantial risk to public order, civilian life, and national security.

Response strategies and activities after a disaster require robust coordination among the key

organizations or agencies because of the multitude of bureaus, civil servants, divisions, and

chosen officials who deliberate on issues affecting other stakeholders, requires high level of

coordination.12

The National response Plan stands as the most recent product in an evolving planning

sequence for managing disasters. Through this response plan, the secretary of defense can

provide military resources to help other agencies and departments. The use of these resources

occurs only with the authorization of either the president or the secretary of defense. Further,

military personnel deployed to emergency areas remain under the command of the

Department of Defense.13 The role of the military has been defined further by the Hazardous

Material Response Annex and the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Act.14

Conclusion

Disaster management and response has gained importance over the years in the United

States as well as elsewhere. This research paper offers backdrop information about the vital 12

Jack Pinkowski, Disaster Management Handbook (CRC Press, 2008). 13

Richard Beebe and Myers, Professional Paramedic, Volume III: Trauma Care & EMS Operations (Cengage Learning, 2011). 14

Lindsay and Murray, Disaster Relief Funding and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations.

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and increasing role of the military forces in disasters. The paper has shown the initiation of

military involvement during the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 and the evolving role through

various disaster management acts. Stafford Act as well as the Emergency Assistance Act gave

clear guidelines by citing that the military can be involved in disasters through the Department

of Defense (DOD). It is notable that the military’s involvement lies on the fact that they can

manage robust coordination and sufficient equipment. The National Response Plan offers

further guidelines on the involvement of the military. While the military involvement is

important, it should only occur when necessary, and even so, the military maintains

independence.

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Bibliography

2006 Operational Law Handbook. DIANE Publishing, n.d.

BARAK, GREGG. Battleground: Criminal Justice. ABC-CLIO, 2007.

Beebe, Richard, and Myers. Professional Paramedic, Volume III: Trauma Care & EMS

Operations. Cengage Learning, 2011.

Coppola, Damon P. Introduction to International Disaster Management. Elsevier, 2010.

Daniels, Ronald J., Donald F. Kettl, and Howard Kunreuther. On Risk and Disaster: Lessons from

Hurricane Katrina. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011.

Fosher, Kerry B. Under Construction: Making Homeland Security at the Local Level. University of

Chicago Press, 2010.

Jeffrey, Brake. CRS Report to Congress,“. Washington DC, 2008.

Kapucu, Naim. “The Role of the Military in Disaster Response in the US.” European Journal of

Economic & Political … 4, no. 2 (2011): 7–33.

Lindsay, Bruce R., and Justin Murray. Disaster Relief Funding and Emergency Supplemental

Appropriations. DIANE Publishing, 2011.

Pinkowski, Jack. Disaster Management Handbook. CRC Press, 2008.

Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem Ademola. Mitigating and Preparing for Disasters: A Survey of Memphis

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Appendix

Soldiers in Lothar storm in 1999

Soldiers in Haiti Disaster Relief

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Soldiers aid the Matte district of Bern’s flood in 2005

Troops assist in disaster relief