Homeland Defense. U.S. Northern Command Has Made Progress but Needs to Address Force Allocation, Readiness Tracking Gaps, and Other Issues

It has been 5 years since the Department of Defense (DOD) established U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) to conduct homeland defense and civil support missions in the United States. Planning operations in the United States poses unique challenges for traditional military planning. GAO was asked to ass...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE WASHINGTON DC
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2008
Subjects:
Military Forces and Organizations
Civil Defense
*ALLOCATIONS
*MILITARY PLANNING
*INTERAGENCY COORDINATION
*HOMELAND DEFENSE
REQUIREMENTS
MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
OPERATIONAL READINESS
*NORTHCOM(U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND)
GAO REPORTS
CIVIL SUPPORT
NORTHCOM
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA480287
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA480287
Description
Summary:It has been 5 years since the Department of Defense (DOD) established U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) to conduct homeland defense and civil support missions in the United States. Planning operations in the United States poses unique challenges for traditional military planning. GAO was asked to assess (1) the status of NORTHCOM's plans and the challenges it faces in planning and conducting operations, (2) the number, experience, and training of planning personnel, and (3) the extent to which NORTHCOM coordinates with other federal agencies. To do this, GAO reviewed available NORTHCOM plans, compared them to joint operational planning criteria, compared planning staff with those at other commands, and reviewed documentation and mechanisms for interagency coordination. GAO is making several recommendations to DOD to direct NORTHCOM to take actions to address the challenges it faces in its planning and interagency coordination efforts. GAO is also recommending that DOD develop metrics by which to measure readiness for civil support missions. DOD generally agreed with the recommendations and suggested ongoing and future efforts to satisfy the intent of the recommendations. Report to Congressional Requesters.

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