United States Northern Command's Mission to Provide Military Support to Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies: The Challenge to Keep Homeland Security and Civil Liberty Dancing in Step with the Current Legal Music

• Main Author: Hoadley, Michael W.
• Other Authors: ARMY WAR COLL CARLISLE BARRACKS PA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2004
• Subjects: Government and Political Science; Sociology and Law; Military Forces and Organizations; *DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE; *MILITARY ASSISTANCE; *LAW ENFORCEMENT; *FEDERAL LAW; *MILITARY LAW; *HOMELAND SECURITY; MILITARY PERSONNEL; POLICIES; MILITARY EQUIPMENT; LIMITATIONS; MISSIONS; CIVILIAN POPULATION; CIVIL AFFAIRS; STATE GOVERNMENT; LOCAL GOVERNMENT; CIVILIAN MILITARY RELATIONS; PATRIOT ACT; NORTHCOM(UNITED STATES NORTHERN COMMAND); POSSE COMITATUS ACT; *CIVIL LIBERTIES; *CIVIL LAW ENFORCEMENT; *LEGAL COMPLIANCE; REQUEST APPROVAL SYSTEM; FEDERAL STATUTES; US CONSTITUTION; MSCLEA(MILITARY SUPPORT FOR CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES); DOD DIRECTIVES; USAWC STRATEGY RESEARCH PROJECT; NORTHCOM
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA424077; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA424077

As part of the Nation's Homeland Security, the recently formed United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM) has the mission to provide Military Support to Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies (MSCLEA). Depending on the circumstances and the law, NORTHCOM may provide resources (personnel and/or materials) for MSCLEA and thereby involve the Department of Defense (DoD) in civilian law enforcement activities and roles. Applicable laws, such as the long-standing Posse Comitatus Act, define the legal parameters of NORTHCOM's role. NORTHCOM also considers what impact new laws, such as the recent Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing for Appropriate Tools Required to intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA Patriot Act), may have on MSCLEA. The legal framework provides authority for NORTHCOM to execute the MSCLEA mission and places limitations on what specific missions NORTHCOM may perform and how it performs them. The public debate is renewed regarding the proper balance between empowering government officials with sufficient law enforcement authority to ensure homeland security and ensuring valued civil liberties are preserved for American citizens. This debate takes place in an American society that has not historically favored the use of federal troops in a civil law enforcement role. NORTHCOM constantly considers the impact of the laws applying to their civil law enforcement role to ensure that their planning, training, and execution of the MSCLEA mission comply with the law. This paper analyzes the major laws and directives impacting NORTHCOM's MSCLEA mission, describes legal limitations on and enablers of mission performance, and recommends a sequential methodology for reviewing legal compliance. The paper concludes with recommendations for changes aimed at the maintenance of a proper balance between sufficient governmental authority for law enforcement and preservation of civil liberty. (55 refs.)