Monday, August 10, 2009

Governors Object to Pentagon Disaster Proposal

Governors Object to Pentagon Disaster Proposal
The National Governors Association opposes a Defense Department proposal to expand the military’s authority to respond to domestic disasters.

In a letter Friday to Paul N. Stockton, assistant secretary of Defense for homeland defense and Americas’ security affairs, the governors said the proposal could lead to confusion over who’s in charge during domestic emergencies and unnecessarily duplicate response efforts.

“We are concerned that the legislative proposal you discuss in your letter would invite confusion on critical command and control issues, complicate interagency planning, establish stove-piped response efforts, and interfere with governors’ constitutional responsibilities to ensure the safety and security of their citizens,” Govs. Jim Douglas , R-Vt., and Joe Manchin III , D-W.Va., wrote on behalf of the group.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment on the letter.

In their letter, the governors elaborate on their concerns over expanding the Pentagon’s independent authority to operate military forces in domestic incidents.

To carry out homeland defense and homeland security responsibilities, governors have to retain control over the domestic use of their National Guard and active and reserve military operating in their states, the letter said.

One of the key lessons of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita was the need for clear chains of command, the governors wrote.

“Without assigning a governor tactical control of [military] forces assisting in a response, and without the use of a dual-hatted National Guard commander to ensure coordination between [National Guard] and [federal] forces, strong potential exists for confusion in mission, execution and the dilution of governors’ control over situations with which they are more familiar and better capable of handing than a federal military commander,” they wrote.

A similar proposal was contained in the House’s version of the fiscal 2009 Defense authorization legislation but was removed in conference because of governors’ concerns, the letter said.

7 comments:

Bitmap said...

I'm surprised that any governors have the spine to stand up to the federal overlords.

I guess that you get braver when someone starts threatening your own ricebowl or your own personal power.

MADDOG said...

THE FED HAS BEEN TRYING TO GRAB PWER FROM THE STATES FOR YEARS AND NOW THE STATES HAVE HAD ENOUGH . WE HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE WITH A SAD OUTCOME 618,000 DEAD AND NO NUMBER OF THOES WOUNDED

ErinAndBrad said...

Sounding like a little in-fighting goin' on!!! Have at it idiots!

shiloh1862 said...

Maddog - if we go down that route this time, I suspect the outcome will be vastly different. Not sure which way though. :(

Pickdog
III

Jimmy (pen name) said...

Guess what? Too late.

Did you know that the top brass for the National Guard consolidated leadership with the Active Duty Army last year?

They did this under the auspices of reducing overhead costs and duplicating leadership. There are no more National Guard 2 stars or higher.

What that means is that the regular Army (the Pentagon and JCS) already have operational control of the Guard! They don't need to ask- they tell.

Also, they hold the purse strings- which is what really matters.

That's why no national guard members have been sent to defend our southern border. The pentagon won't pay for it. Simple enough.

Follow the money- the Guard doesn't lift a finger unless they are "activated". Activated by who? Whoever has the $$ to pay them. Right now, nearly every state is bankrupt with no funds to pay their own guard. Soldiers don't work for free and gas is expensive.

So, the way I see it, the Pentagon (and Obama) have complete control of the State Militias (National Guard). They activate them and send them to War, they control the money and the rank structure.

Period. A little whining by the Governors is WAY to late. Spilt milk.

Also, (sorry for the short rant) the Army has been training everyday for "domestic" operations for the past 8 years. Where? Iraq. They have been honing the skills for going door to door and doing searches for "persons of interest."

Also, have you seen the National Guard's recruitment ad for a "Relocation and internment Specialist"? It's on their recruitment website- no kidding.

Prepare now.

WWW.prepyourfamily.blogspot.com

Mayberry said...

Hell yeah! And Jimmy, linkage accomplished...

Mrs K said...

Here's Texas Governor Rick Perry
phone line where you can ask
to leave a comment. I called about Manatory Vaccines ,Obama take over of health care , and army Northcom/training with foreign troops on American soil. You can leave a short message. Go to the man at the top. He is running for re-election.
His number & Your congressman # is in blue pages of your phonebook.
512-463-2000 Governor Perry's number. Speak out while we can.