Content area
Full Text
Lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy
Early on 29 October 2012, Hurricane Sandy, the second-costliest hurricane in U.S. history, made landfall near Atlantic City, NJ. On 31 October the 26th MEU, II MEF, was directed to deploy in support of disaster relief operations. Less than 24 hours later, task-organized portions of the MEU's command and logistics combat, ground combat, and aviation combat elements Hew aboard the USS Wasp (LHD 1) already positioned off the coast of New York, joined with the staff of Amphibious Squadron 6, and began making preparations to provide defense support of civil authorities (DSCA) ashore to help relieve human suffering and clear the damage caused by the storm.
There are critical differences between operations conducted outside the United States and those conducted in support of U.S. civil authorities, principally existing in the roles of civilian organizations; the relationships between military forces and Federal, state, and local agencies; and the legal authorities under which military forces operate. U.S. military personnel must understand the domestic operating environment so that they can employ military capabilities efficiently, effectively, and legally.1 Likewise, intelligence personnel must understand how some organic intelligence capabilities that would otherwise be available in overseas theaters become nonviable in a DSCA environment, and how some resources that are available can present themselves as a unique and highly effective means of contributing to the intelligence picture and reducing uncertainty.
The 26th MEU's deployment in support of Hurricane Sandy relief efforts was short compared to some historical DSCA efforts (ours was only 13 days in length, while others have lasted weeks or months), and the scope of the MEU's employment was significantly limited as a result of unclear mission authorities and a somewhat convoluted command and control hierarchy. The result was a limited authority to conduct operations and a limited presence on the ground. While not every aspect of and opportunity for intelligence support to DSCA was dealt with during our support to the relief ef fort, our experience did allow for a number of valuable lessons learned. This article will discuss those lessons and offer techniques to incorporate them into training.
Key Definitions
DSCA is support provided by U.S. Federal military forces, Department of Defense (DoD) civilians, DoD contract personnel, DoD component assets, and...