Maturing Defense Support of Civil Authorities and the Dual Status Commander Arrangement Through the Lens of Process Improvement.

摘要

The role of the military during homeland defense and civil support operations has significant strategic implications for U.S. national security efforts. Considerations for the future employment of Active Component forces during missions in the homeland have evolved into a major topic of conversation among policymakers and military strategists alike. In this context, there is a philosophical conflict between federalism and state sovereignty that continues to present itself as an impediment to success. Balancing the institutionally divergent approaches to achieve a unified, efficient, and effective response continues to prove problematic. The dual status commander (DSC) initiative offers a coordination mechanism intended to address the challenges of unity of effort between state and federal military response activities. However, there are numerous gaps in the available DSC guidance, which leads to increased complexity and confusion during domestic disaster response. This monograph introduces process improvement strategies focusing on the DSC construct in New York during Hurricane Sandy. It builds on our previous Strategic Studies Institute monograph documenting the DSC-led response to Hurricane Sandy in New York. Using the data collected during the Sandy case study as a basis for analysis, the monograph discusses the potential role of process improvement techniques as a method for improving unity of effort between state and federal military forces under the DSC construct for no-notice/limited-notice incident response. As part of our argument, we assess the application and utility of various process improvement methods and present examples of how such methods can be used to improve civil support missions. Based on the recommendations from the Sandy case study, we conclude by presenting a brief description of three conceptual process models mapped to specific challenges of a DSC-led joint task force.