Reinforcing the First Line of Defense: The Role of the National Guard in Critical Infrastructure Protection (CSL Issue Paper, Volume 12-05, August 2005)

摘要

The Department of Defense (DoD) Strategy for Homeland Defense and Civil Support asserts that one of the most essential and promising areas of employment for the National Guard in defense of the homeland is Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP). The strategy's authors believe that the comprehensive assessment of critical infrastructure sites (both DoD and non- DoD), and the protection of those sites as required, are both areas in which the Guard could serve vital functions. Concurrently, the strategy reminds us that the modern threat against our country will call for an 'unprecedented degree of shared situational awareness' between the interagency, state, local, tribal and private entities - a requirement that could be greatly facilitated by the traditional relationship between the Guard and the communities it serves.