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Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Some interesting post-Katrina suggestions

Heritage Society publishes this, containing many thoughts on post-Katrina things including:
Create a Navy National Guard. The emerging potential for maritime threats and low-altitude attacks augurs the need for an organizational structure that better utilizes the Navy's capacity to support homeland security. Several states with maritime interests already have state naval militias. In fact, the New York Naval Militia assisted in the response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Creating a Navy Guard to include all coastal states would offer several advantages. A Navy Guard would provide coastal states with more resources to address their state maritime security and public safety requirements. Unlike the Coast Guard, the Navy Guard would focus on state needs when not on active federal service. It would also provide an organization within the National Guard and the Navy that treats homeland security missions as an inherent responsibility and would work to develop the requisite competencies and capabilities to fully support these tasks. Finally, a Navy Guard would provide a suitable partner for the U.S. Coast Guard to ensure seamless integration of daily DOD and DHS maritime operations.
But who will fund it, train it, equipment it and with what, exactly? Why not bolster the Coast Guard with a "Guard?" You avoid posse comitatus, gain law enforcement, small boat expertise, and more. Far more than you gain from bringing more blue water types to do shore stuff, unless Seabees are major players...in other words, why make the problem harder than it needs to be?

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