What should be the relationship between the National Guard and United States Northern Command in civil support operations following catastrophic events

Abstract

Military civil support operations following Hurricane Katrina revealed a compelling need for improving the command and control arrangements between the National Guard, operating in Title 32 status subordinate to the governors, and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) who controlled all of the assigned Title 10 active duty forces subordinate to the President. This details the three mutually exclusive duty statuses of the National Guard, reviews the statutory, strategy and policy environment, and examines the joint military doctrine that covers civil support. It describes the three potential command and control models with their strengths and weaknesses. There is a detailed analysis of the USNORTHCOMS's Defense Support of Civil Authority concept plan with recommended enhancements. The paper concludes that the command and control arrangement is situationally dependent and provides considerations for the commander. There is no directive authority that compels the National Guard to work with U.S. Northern Command. However, there are mutual benefits to working in partnership to create the coordination and communication model organization and procedures for future civil support operations that include the National Guard and USNORTHCOM. The USNORTHCOM commander needs to build trust with the governors, and then get a full time National Guard brigadier general on his staff to complete the coordination with the states.