Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA): Aids Civilians in Domestic Crises - Research Paper

Introduction

Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) is the support given by the military forces to the civilians in response to any form of requests made by civil authorities, particularly in matters related to domestic crises, support for the law enforcement agencies, and other inland activities (Ripberger, 2011). It is worth noting that DSCA is provided when the civil authorities request for assistance and after the relevant authorities approve. The operations of DSCA are conducted in the United States' homeland, which is the region encompassing the mainland area of the United States, Hawaii, Alaska, territories within the United States and the territorial waters and airspace surrounding the country as well. Therefore, this paper discusses the Defense Support of Civil Authorities by focusing on the roles of the Department of Defense (DOD) in providing civil defense and the regulatory framework governing civil defense that include the need for approvals within the DOD and by the president or defense secretary.

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Historical Perspective of DSCA

In the history of the United States of America, the Department of Defense (DOD) has worked towards ensuring a perfect union among states. Other roles have been to establish justice, provide a common defense for every region in the nation, promote the overall wellbeing of the citizens, and insure any form of domestic quietude. The use of the military forces of the United States for humanitarian and domestic purposes can be associated with the fact that the public connects operations of disaster relief to the involvement of the military. According to Ripberger (2011), the public expects that the armed forces are obliged to protect the civilians in the event of an attack that is inclusive of a natural disaster. Most of the civil authorities also turn to the military for assistance in situations of emergencies and disaster relief operations to protect the critical infrastructure of a nation. The military is viewed as a form of assistance to the civilians within a country. In any attack, the most sought assets include the transport, fuel, and workforce, commodities that are inclusive of food and medicine, and military facilities to mention a few.

Importantly, some conditions ought to be met for the Department of Defense to provide the required aid to the civilian authorities. As stipulated in the constitution of the United States, the intervention of the DOD come in response to assistance requested for by the civilian authorities for any domestic crises, support for the law enforcement agency, and other happenings requiring military assistance within the US homeland (Roberts, 2014). Most of the military support is usually provided during natural and human-made disasters, among other situations. A threshold of review is mandatory before the military support is granted as per the requests from the civilian authorities apart from the instance of looming incidences that could lead to loss of lives and other extremities. Different authorities such as the law of the United States, the executive orders of the president and the federal regulations provide a framework of various policies for DOD to provide support to the civilian authorities, which are not entities of the DOD (Roberts, 2014). Thus, it is clear from this section that the military does not assist the civil authorities after the entities request for their aid. Instead, some procedures ought to be met for the DOD to provide the necessary help to the civilian authorities as shall be discussed in the latter section of this report.

Roles and Responsibilities of DOD in DSCA

Primarily, this section seeks to discuss some of the roles of the Department of Defense in providing homeland security and how good it executes them. According to Ripberger (2011), homeland security refers to the effort of a country to prevent any form of terror attacks within the boundaries of the United States. The efforts of safeguarding the homeland reduce the susceptibility of the country to terrorists and minimize any form of damage from any attacks. Homeland defense, on the other hand, is a term defined as the protection of the dominance, domestic populace, and vital infrastructure of the United States from any form of threats and aggression. It is essential to understand the fact that DOD is mandated to ensure homeland defense ('Military Support to Civil Authorities: The Role of the Department Of Defense In Support Of Homeland Defense,' 2007). DSCA is a part of homeland security since it is the support given by DOD for domestic emergencies and occurs under the directives of the president or the secretary for defense.

The United States Northern Command (US NORTHCOM) is another unit in the homeland security whose role is to provide protection to the continental region of the USA and to prevent the homeland from any form of threats and disasters ('Unconventional Operational Concepts and the Homeland,' 2009). The primary mission of the US Northern Command deter, prevent, and overcome any form of extortions and hostility against the United States and provide soldierly support to the civilian authorities upon the directives of the president or the defense secretary of the United States. With this in mind, it is clear that the United States Northern Command has a significant role to play in DSCA. According to Roberts (2014), the establishment of US NORTHCOM in the year 2002 has been essential in providing pivotal points in the DOD to address the responsibilities of the department within the United States' homeland.

The Federal Civil Defense Act of the year 1950 is one of the regulatory frameworks that allow the DOD to protect the civilians within the United States. The law was enacted in the year 1951 and amended in 1981. The act stipulates the intent of the provision of civil defense aimed at protecting life and property from any form of external threats and natural disaster. The responsibility of DSCA is bestowed in the federal government and prevailing states and political units. The role of the federal government in DSCA is to provide the required direction, guidance, and coordination ('Military Support to Civil Authorities: The Role of the Department Of Defense In Support Of Homeland Defense,' 2007). In the event where an attack from an enemy is presumed to cause substantial injury or has already led to deaths of civilians, the Congress or the president has the mandate of proclaiming a state of civil emergency. In the period, the president's role is to direct the military operations after considering the military requirements of the DOD. Asides from that, the federal government has the role of providing the personnel and materials required to aid in the military operations while also providing the necessary shelter for use during emergencies.

Further, the United States Constitution has some disaster relief laws that help in defining the role of the DOD in providing military support to the civilians. The primary intent of the relief laws is to provide an logical and continued form of help by the federal government to the states and local government to ensure they assuage the distress and damage that emanates from a major disaster. The constitution defines situations such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, storms and similar catastrophes as significant disasters that require the attention and assistance from the military. The disaster relief laws that existed before the Federal Civil defense Act was later appealed in the year 1970 to becoming the Disaster Relief Act (Roberts, 2014). The act intended to enable the federal government to help both the state and local government in carrying out the various relief operations in times of major catastrophes and disasters by widening the scope of the existing programs for disaster management and encouraging the states to come up with eloquent relief strategies in the event of a disaster. Mainly, this aimed at fostering improved coordination in disaster management. Under this act, the president authorizes the agencies under the federal government to provide tools, provisions, amenities, and employees to the state and local governments in the event of any disaster. The personnel may include the military that would help in protecting the safety of the civilians in such situations.

Nonetheless, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is another regulation that expands the disaster management programs to assist the state and local governments in fulfiling their mandates and roles in responding to any form of disasters that are inclusive of natural catastrophes primarily. The federal agencies use their statutory resources that are personnel, supplies, facilities and equipment to mention a few in support of the efforts applied by both the state and local governments. Subchapter IV of this law requires the federal government to provide the help that would meet the immediate threats posed on life and property in the incident of a natural disaster ('Military Support to Civil Authorities: The Role of the Department Of Defense In Support Of Homeland Defense,' 2007). However, the help given should be authorized by the president of the country. In matters concerning to the utilization of military forces, it is crucial to understand the fact that the law indicates that in the reverberation of an incident that may be suitable to warrant for military aid, the governor of the affected state ought to request the president who will, in turn, direct the defense secretary to utilize the military and its resources. The military would be required to conduct their emergency works on both private and public land as they attend to a situation to ensure the preservation of both life and critical infrastructure. However, the use of military personnel and resources is restricted to a period that does not exceed 10days.

Regulatory Framework of DOD in DSCA

The DOD has outlined regulatory guidelines that contain procedures and responsibilities for the military in response to civil crises and attacks related to any form of terror or disaster. The DOD Directive No. 3025.1 is the principal directive that currently applies to the involvement of the army in providing support to civil authorities. The directive was first issued in the year 1952, and its primary purpose was to design the obligations of the military authorities and staff of the DOD in civil defense. The directive gave roles and responsibilities to the service branch, which was to develop the programs of civil defense and policies specific to the operations of the military. The service branches were to coordinate with each other and work with the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) that has the mandate of preparing national plans and programs for disaster management involving civil dense. The directive requires the FCDA to delegate the responsibilities of civil defense to the departments and agencies in the federal government (Davis, 2011). The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC) had the task under the directive that was to review and coordinate the programs for civil defense while also providing the relevant guidance to FCDA as to areas that could be probable targets to attacks and disasters and should be prioritized in civil defense planning.

Additionally, the directive establishes policy for military support of the civilian authorities that the Department of Defense ought to recognize by focusing on both the Army and Air National Guard Forces of the United States. The policy stipulates that when the forces are not in service to the federal government, they have the duty of providing military aid to the state and local government agencies in the event of any emergencies that requir...