Joint Interagency Coordination Group (JIACG) Contingency Planning Collaboration between Combatant Commands and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) for Foreign Humanitarian Assistance (FHA).

摘要

In his memorandum of February 5, 2001, the former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld discussed the role of the Department of Defense (DoD) in relationship to the Department of State (DoS) and Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) for U.S. response to foreign humanitarian assistance (FHA). Rumsfeld delineated a process in which OFDA would forward an official request by the Executive Secretary through DoS to DoD for the needed military capabilities. Depending on the magnitude of the anticipated response or the level of sensitivity, the request would either be routed from DoS to the Joint Staff for execution or to the Secretary of Defense for approval, then to the Joint Staff for execution. Upcoming and ongoing missions and expected responses to disasters around the globe will continue to stress the military's ability to respond, and the United States may have greater difficulty mobilizing its military at times to assist in any single, devastating FHA operation, or multiple FHA missions. An overburdened military could fail in ways that could lead to detrimental effects on the international reputation of the United States. The new requirement for frequent review of contingency plans emphasizes the importance of ongoing planning for multiple contingencies to the success of DoD FHA programs. Contingency plans must be in place and be reviewed and adjusted every 6 months rather than relying on crisis action planning (CAP) for FHA operations. Although not a complete or perfect fix, COCOMs and OFDA must collaborate and create contingency plans, which would better allow DoD to fill the supporting role to DoS that was conceptualized by Rumsfeld in 2001. The shift in focus toward more effective and efficient execution of military support to OFDA during FHA operations should project timelines and specific tasks for military execution to stabilize the disaster until IGOs and NGOs can assume control.