The issue that has received the most attention in post-Katrina discussions is the speed of rescue and relief operations. The Department of Defense's Northern Command began its alert and coordination procedures before Katrina's landfall, however many deployments did not reach the affected area until days after. An examination of the timeline of DOD's response and the decision points along that timeline could provide insight into whether the response could have been accelerated given the intensity of the storm and the extent of the destruction. Both the National Response Plan and DOD's own Homeland Security Doctrine lay out extensive procedures and specific decision points in an attempt to ensure an organized response to catastrophic incidents. It may now be necessary to examine those procedures and the actions of responsible authorities to determine whether procedural obstacles, administrative failures, or both delayed the arrival of needed resources in the affected area. The traditional assumption that the Department of Defense is the resource of last resort may also require reexamination. This report examines the existing disaster response procedures for the Department of Defense and how they were implemented, the use of the National Guard and its relationship to active duty forces, funds appropriated to date, and then discusses issues that may receive congressional consideration Reinforcing a long-standing tradition, Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5 states: The Secretary of Defense shall provide military support to civil authorities for domestic incidents as directed by the President or when consistent with military readiness and appropriate under the circumstances and the law. The Secretary of Defense shall retain command of military forces providing civil support. The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary [of Homeland Security] shall establish appropriate relationships and mechanisms for cooperation and coordination between their two departments. In keeping with the National Response Plan (NRP) and the DOD Joint Doctrine on Homeland Security, DOD civil support is normally provided only when local, state, and other federal resources are "overwhelmed"; and it is requested by the Lead Federal Agency responding to an incident or natural disaster. This is a fundamental principle of DOD's approach to civil support: it is generally a resource of last resort. The Secretary of Defense has the principal authority for DOD's provision of civil support. His office retains approval authority for all requests for assistance from civilian agencies and retains control of all DOD assets provided. In practice, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Homeland Defense (ASD/HD) is delegated supervisory responsibility of the civil support mission area and coordination with the Department of Homeland Security. Within the DOD Joint Staff, civil support responsibilities reside with the Joint Director of Military Support. U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) has the operational responsibility for civil support for most of the United States. It carries out civil support missions with forces assigned as required from all the armed services, typically through the creation of a joint task force. NORTHCOM has a permanently assigned Joint Interagency Coordination Group comprising liaison officers from other DOD components and other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The official DOD term for civil support is Military Assistance to Civil Authorities, which is divided into three types of assistance: Military Support to Civil Authorities (MSCA) generally consists of support during natural disasters, special security events (e.g., the Olympics), and man-made incidents (terrorism, oil spills) which have evoked a presidential or state emergency declaration. Military Support to Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies (MSCLEA) consists of support provided to a Lead federal Agency (e.g., Federal Bureau of Investigation, DHS) for activities such as counterterrorism and counterdrug operations and may include provision of equipment, training, or expert advice. Military Assistance for Civil Disturbances occurs when the President employs the armed forces to suppress insurrections, riots, or to assist the states in maintaining law and order. In these situations, the Lead Federal Agency supported by DOD is the Department of Justice. The Army Corps of Engineers, however, does not fall under the supervision of the ASD/HD or the Northern Command, despite providing extensive civil support from within DOD. It performs its emergency support activities primarily as an adjunct to its on-going mission of water navigation maintenance and flood control. (See also CRS Report RL33188, Protecting New Orleans: From Hurricane Barriers to Floodwalls , by [author name scrubbed]. With the exception of circumstances discussed below, unless there is a specific direction from the President, requests for military assistance must originate from a Lead Federal Agency, typically the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security. Requests are submitted to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where they are evaluated by the ASD/HD according to the following criteria: legality, readiness, lethality, risk, cost, and appropriateness. This is to be done on an expedited basis and, once the Secretary of Defense approves the requests, they are forwarded to the Joint Director of Military Support within the Joint Staff, who in turn provides the appropriate orders to Northern Command. (See Figure 1 ). A Defense Coordinating Officer (DCO) is designated and deployed to the area of the incident. In the case of Katrina, because of the size of the response required, a Joint Task Force (JTF-Katrina) was established with Lieutenant General Russel Honore, the DCO, as task force commander. The DCO then serves as the single point of contact for DOD resources for other government agencies operating in the incident area, but does not, however, have operational control over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or National Guard personnel operating in State Active Duty or Title 32 status (See, Role of the National Guard ). The Corps of Engineers performs its emergency support under independent flood control authority (P.L. 64-99), but can and does assist both FEMA and JTF-Katrina under the National Response Plan. Within the National Response Plan, there are provisions for a "proactive federal response to catastrophic events." These provisions are reserved for an event "that almost immediately exceeds resources normally available to State and local authorities." These provisions are contained in the NRP's Catastrophic Event Annex and can be implemented only by the Secretary of Homeland Security or his designee. Such events are to be designated Incidents of National Significance. The NRP specifies the following guiding principles for proactive federal response: The primary mission is to save lives; protect critical infrastructure, property, and the environment; contain the event; and preserve national security. Standard procedures regarding requests for assistance may be expedited or, under extreme circumstances, suspended in the immediate aftermath of an event of catastrophic magnitude. Identified Federal response resources will deploy and begin necessary operations as required to commence life-safety activities. Notification and full coordination with States will occur, but the coordination process must not delay or impede the rapid deployment and use of critical resources. States are urged to notify and coordinate with local governments regarding a proactive Federal response. State and local governments are encouraged to conduct collaborative planning with the Federal Government as a part of "steady-state" preparedness for catastrophic incidents. Secretary of Homeland Security Chertoff did not declare Hurricane Katrina an Incident of National Significance until August 30, the evening after the hurricane made landfall, making a proactive federal response under the NRP moot. In addition to the NRP's provisions for a proactive federal response, the DOD Joint Homeland Security Doctrine also addresses instances when an "immediate response" is required of military commanders. Responses to requests from civil authorities prior to receiving authority from the President or chain of command are made when immediate support is critical to save lives, prevent human suffering, or mitigate great property damage. When such conditions exist and time does not permit prior approval from higher headquarters, commanders or officials acting under immediate response authority may take necessary action to respond, but must advise the NMCC [National Military Command Center] through command channels by the most expeditious means available and seek approval or additional authorizations. In response to a FEMA request (based upon predictions of an unusually active hurricane season) Secretary Rumsfeld issued an order on August 20 which authorized NORTHCOM to deploy Defense Coordinating Elements (DCE) to FEMA's East Coast and Gulf Coast administrative regions upon receipt of a written request from FEMA and the approval of the service secretaries affected. According to the Secretary's order, FEMA's written request should specify the area affected, the installations requested for use as relief staging areas, funds obligated for DOD reimbursement, and the requested date and duration of deployment. Any FEMA request that required more than DCE deployment and use of installations would also have to be submitted to OSD and the Joint Staff for "processing, validation, and subsequent action by the Secretary of Defense." DOD, through NORTHCOM, began planning and actually deploying ships and personnel prior to receiving specific requests from the Department of Homeland Security or its subordinate, FEMA. NORTHCOM's first responses to Katrina's approach began the week prior to its August 29 landfall. On Wednesday, August 24, NORTHCOM issued its first warning orders to Regional Emergency Preparedness Officers, State Emergency Preparedness Officers, and the Senior Army Advisors (Guard) in the states expected to be affected. The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi declared states of emergency on August 26 and 27, respectively. President Bush declared a state of emergency for Louisiana on August 27 and NORTHCOM began to deploy the forward elements of what was to become Joint Task Force-Katrina (JTF-Katrina). On Monday, August 29, after Katrina made landfall, President Bush issued a federal declaration of catastrophic emergency, and on Tuesday, August 30, JTF-Katrina was officially activated. That evening, in response to levee breaches and consequent flooding in New Orleans, the DHS Secretary declared Katrina an Incident of National Significance.