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Monterey CA - March 2010

Stockton Outlines "Unity of Effort"

Dr. Paul Stockton unveiled a new vision in which the Department of Defense is reaching out to state governors so that both can more effectively work together in responding to catastrophic events. Stockton outlined this new approach during a February 4, 2010, speech at the annual Center for Homeland Defense and Security Alumni Conference.

Stockton addressed a much-debated issue in homeland security and emergency management circles: What are the roles of federal and state entities when it comes to disaster response?

" I have the beginning of a vision for a solution, and would like to bring all of you in on finding a solution set," Stockton told the more than 100 alumni, faculty and other attendees in the Hermann Hall Ballroom at the Naval Postgraduate School.

Stockton, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and America’s Security Affairs, floated a proposal he dubbed " Unity of Effort" that proposes ways to improve coordination between the states and the Department of Defense in disaster response - an issue he said was of great concern to governors.

" Dr. Stockton once again offered stimulating ideas and visions to improve the safety and security of the nation," said CHDS Director Glen Woodbury, a former director of the Washington State Emergency Management Agency. " As we should all expect from our CHDS founder, he continues to lead by offering up propositions that go straight to the heart of the most important challenges facing the realm of homeland defense and security. In this case, the need for a more effective means of intersecting the local and state with the federal military roles in planning for and responding to catastrophic events."

The initiative Stockton set forth gained momentum January 11, 2010, when President Obama signed an executive order establishing a 10-person bi-partisan Council of Governors to work with federal representatives from across the interagency on matters involving the National Guard, civil support, and federal-state cooperation in domestic activities.

" We now have a formal body to represent the view of the governors so that we have a negotiation partner," said Stockton. " We have a formal basis of dialogue to move forward.

The Council of Governors was scheduled to convene its first meeting February 23, 2010. This latest initiative builds upon a January 13, 2009, memorandum in which Secretary of Defense William Gates approved a direct liaison for Defense Department support to civil authorities in disaster response. This allows federal military forces to operate in coordination with and in response to state authorities in the execution of tasks directed by the President or the Secretary of Defense, Stockton explained.

Generally, the goal is to fill the gaps in disaster and emergency response while respecting the constitutional boundaries of state and federal entities. Stockton said governors and the states they represent have often been displeased with the way the federal government and the military have responded to disasters.

The proposal he envisions outlines, for example, a clearly defined plan of what federal troops might do and the duties state agencies would perform in event of a disaster such as an earthquake on the New Madrid fault. Delineating those duties can raise constitutional questions about the role of federal and state bodies.

Stockton acknowledged those issues during his address, stressing the constitutional framework within which better cooperation must be accomplished. Governors are the sovereign and independently elected leaders of their states, while the President is elected national sovereign and the commander-in-chief of the United State’s military, he noted.

" We have two chains of government; they both need to be respected," Stockton said. " Any actions to improve unity of effort must acknowledge, respect and take advantage of these constitutional dual sovereignties and dual chains of commands. We are going to fail if we have a unity of effort approach where one side is poaching on the other’s turf."

In pursuing this vision, Stockton championed what he called the three issues that would be needed for success: A " trust document" between the states and the federal government; joint emergency planning; and a regional approach to disaster response. The " trust documents" are likely to vary from state to state, and would set forth common agreed upon protocols and procedures for cooperation.

Perhaps most importantly, the planning pillar would call for states to be specific in terms of how they would respond to a catastrophe and what shortcomings in capacity they need help with in filling.

" State plans vary enormously in terms of quality from a Department of Defense perspective," Stockton said. " We want to know in advance what each state might ask for. I don’t want to have ‘pickup games’ in reacting to a disaster."

And, a regional cooperative approach among states, similar to FEMA’s regions, should be at the heart of the effort. Stockton offered no definite time frame for realizing the unity of effort vision other than it is a high priority.

" I’m hungry for progress," he said after the speech. " I think it is incumbent on us to make progress as quickly as we can make it."

Stockton credited Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Mike McDaniel with reviving the concept of the 10-governor council, a measure that had been called for in the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act.

" It was close to dead in the water before Mike showed up and helped revive it," Stockton said. The Council of Governors is designed to have five Democrats and five Republicans, with each governor representing one of the ten FEMA regions. Prior to outlining his vision of state-federal cooperation, Stockton discussed his duties in the post he assumed in May 2009.

Responsible for security affairs for the whole of the Western Hemisphere, he is scheduled to travel to Canada for meetings with Prime Minister Peter MacKay. The two nations share a common concern in the increasingly navigable waters through the Arctic Ocean due to climate change. He noted neither country has sufficient surveillance assets in the region nor do they have great search and rescue capabilities there.

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