Transporting Government Agencies on Department of Defense Aircraft

摘要

This paper examines how the Department of Defense (DoD) transports other government agencies during times of crisis. Non-DoD agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team (USRT) rely exclusively on DoD aircraft to rapidly deploy to the scene of a disaster. The DoD must work closely with these agencies to better prepare them for transport on military aircraft. The bombings of the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in August of 1998 highlighted the need for better coordination between DoD and other non-DoD agencies when moving to a disaster site. This paper contains a summary of Operation Resolute Response, the rapid deployment of the FBI and USRT to East Africa in the wake of the 1998 American Embassy bombings. The paper also examines the changes that have taken place within the FBI, USRT, and DoD to better respond to the next crisis. When government agencies become actively involved in advance planning with the DoD, the likelihood of a successful deployment increases. Changes made within a government agency also will improve its ability to rapidly deploy on DoD aircraft.