Sue McNeil

Whereas the role of the federal military is clearly defined and limited in the spectrum of domestic operations, the National Guard, as a state or federal asset depending on duty status designation, assumes a more dynamic, multi-spectrum support role. This multi-spectrum role sometimes puts the Guard at the center of a contentious command power struggle between the states and federal government; a power struggle that has led to a growing debate over the role of the National Guard during domestic operations, with some questioning whether the Guard is better aligned to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), rather than the states, for domestic operational requirements. This monograph, by Dr. Ryan Burke and Dr. Sue McNeil, attempts to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of a hypothetical realignment of the National Guard to the DHS. Drawing from interviews with a range of subject matter experts primarily from the National Guard and the DHS, Burke and McNeil first address the pros and cons of such...

During large-scale emergencies or disasters, National Guard forces regularly operate alongside Active Component forces in response to requests from civil authorities. In an attempt to promote unity of effort between state-controlled National Guard and Active Component forces, states and the Department of Defense agreed to use dual status commanders-military commanders authorized by law to serve in both state and federal statuses simultaneously-as the primary command and control mechanism during unplanned incident response operations. This unique command arrangement was used for the first time in response to an unplanned incident during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Though the arrangement worked well in many ways, there are definitely opportunities for improvement.

The military response to Hurricane Sandy was historically significant. For the first time, dual status commanders-military commanders authorized by law to serve in both state and federal status simultaneously- were activated in an effort to unify state and federal efforts under a single command structure during an unplanned response. The events that occurred over the 2-week response period provide a basis for lessons learned as we look to improve upon this first attempt to use this unique command construct in response to an unplanned incident. In this monograph, Mr. Ryan Burke and Dr. Sue McNeil discuss the results of their year-long case study examining the military response to Hurricane Sandy under the dual status commander arrangement. In one of the most thorough and comprehensive analyses of the subject to date, Burke and McNeil first address the chronology of the storm and the ensuing military actions.