Who Should Set Airlift Priorities During Foreign Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief Operations and on What Basis

摘要

During foreign humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (FHA/DR) operations, the Department of Defense (DOD) occasionally supports the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in USAID's role as lead federal agency for FHA/DR. Despite being only one of potentially many supporting U.S. government (USG) agencies, DOD components can be put in the challenging position of prioritizing the airlift cargo for other USG agencies supporting USAID's lead. This paper argues that when DOD assets are to be used to airlift cargo for interagency partners during FHA/DR operations, USAID should set the transportation priorities for the interagency cargo based on USG objectives, the USAID's concept of operations and the situation; the joint force commander should then be responsible for integrating the interagency airlift priorities into the overall airlift priorities communicated to U.S. Transportation Command for actual movement.