EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUNCTION (ESF) 20 DEFENSE SUPPORT FOR CIVILIAN AUTHORITIES ESF COORDINATOR Washington Military Department- Emergency Management Division (WA EMD) PRIMARY AGENCIES Regional Military Branches SUPPORT AGENCIES Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Pierce County Department of Emergency Management (PC DEM) I. INTRODUCTION A. Purpose B. Scope 1. To provide guidance for, and to outline the procedures to request Washington National Guard (WNG) activation in support of local jurisdictions during emergencies or disasters. 2. To outline procedures to request local military assistance under memorandum of understanding for immediate health and medical response. 3. To provide for the effective coordination and use of Department of Defense (DoD) assets during an emergency or disaster. This ESF covers actions associated with support provided by the military branches to assist civilian authorities with incidents requiring DoD resources. II. POLICIES A. State and federal military forces remain under the direct control of their respective military chains of command. WNG personnel and equipment will remain under the operational control of the designated military task force commander or the state emergency operations center (SEOC). B. The Adjutant General (TAG) will deploy resources of the WNG in a federallyfunded status in response to an emergency involving imminent loss of life, to prevent great suffering and/or to mitigate great destruction of property, in accordance with federal regulations and statutes. As soon as the emergency situation is stabilized, the WNG will begin to withdraw support unless the Governor directs the TAG to order the WNG into state active duty (SAD). III. SITUATION ESF 20: Military Support for Civilian Authorities/September 2014 1 of 5
A. Emergency/Disaster Conditions and Hazards. Major emergencies, disaster events or terrorist incidents can present a scale of complexity beyond the capability of local and county resources. Military units possess resources or capabilities that that may be needed by local jurisdictions to save human life, prevent suffering or mitigate property damage. Further information on Pierce County hazards may be found in the Pierce County Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) published separately. B. Planning Assumptions 1. At some point a serious incident will require the activation of the WNG and Department of Defense military branches to support emergency operations within Pierce County. 2. Pierce County resources will be inadequate, depleted or nearing depletion prior to requesting state and federal governmental support. 3. Pierce County officials are empowered to directly request resources from the commander of the military institution when certain criteria, such as those covered by memoranda of understanding, are met. 4. In most circumstances, Pierce County will make requests for military support through the state EOC. In rare exceptions that are very time sensitive, direct requests to DoD entities may be made. 5. Military operations have priority over military support to civil authorities, unless otherwise directed by the Secretary of Defense. IV. CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS A. General 1. State and federal military branches are well represented in Pierce County. Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a US Army and US Air Force installation. The US Coast Guard (USCG) has operations located within the county and PC DEM has established a working relationship with the 13 th USCG District. The WNG is headquartered at Camp Murray. 2. The Washington State Military Department is made up of two military components the Air National Guard and the Army National Guard, and two civilian components, the state EMD and the Support Services staff. B. Organization Defense support to civil authorities is normally executed as a military operation where federal military forces remain under Department of Defense command and control. State resources will be managed in accordance with NIMS/ICS requirements until officially declared as a federal force. ESF 20: Military Support for Civilian Authorities/September 2014 2 of 5
C. Resource Requests 1. Requests for military support to civil authorities are initiated by the DEM Director, EOC manager or designee when local resources are inadequate, depleted or nearly depleted. Requests for WNG support are normally made to the Washington State EOC. DoD support can also be requested directly from the commander of the respective military branches. 2. As a general rule, Pierce County officials will request WNG assistance through the Pierce County EOC. The request will be forwarded through the Washington State EOC to the governor under the authorities of the RCW 38.08.040. WNG assistance is designed to complement, not substitute for, civil participation in emergency management. D. Activation. 1. The decision to activate the WNG is made by the Governor based on a recommendation from the Washington State Military Department in consultation with The Adjutant General.. 2. Federal military forces require a presidentially declared state of emergency for deployment under the National Response Framework. FEMA Region X is responsible for directing, controlling and coordinating the federal response in cooperation with the DEM Director, EOC manager or delegate. Exceptions include the following: a. Imminently serious conditions Any commander is authorized to take immediate action without waiting for higher headquarters approval in order to save lives, prevent suffering and/or mitigate great destruction of property, where response time usually is of the essence. The DEM Director, EOC manager or delegate will make direct request for this assistance. b. Undeclared emergency or disaster (not imminently serious) Any commander is authorized to provide assistance when local capabilities have been exceeded or exhausted. This request comes with the expectation of potential reimbursement. The DEM director, EOC manager or delegate will make direct request for this assistance. E. A memorandum of understanding describing the procedures for requesting health and medical assets exists between Pierce County and the following military services: 1. I Corps, JBLM, Tacoma 2. JBLM, Tacoma ESF 20: Military Support for Civilian Authorities/September 2014 3 of 5
3. Western Regional Medical Command and Madigan Health Care System, JBLM, Tacoma 4. JBLM Dental Activity, Tacoma 5. Public Health Command District-JBLM, Tacoma 6. 62 nd Airlift Wing, JBLM, Tacoma 7. 62 nd Medical Squadron, JBLM, Tacoma 8. Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle. V. RESPONSIBILITIES A. Primary Agency- Regional Military Departments 1. Washington National Guard. a. Provide temporary military support to civil authorities on order of the governor or during state emergencies. b. When emergency response and recovery demands exceed the local and state capacities, Department of Defense and other federal resources are requested by the Governor to the President, through FEMA Region X. 2. Department of Defense: a. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) provides direct assistance to civil authorities in flood fighting, flood rescue, and the repair or restoration of flood control works. b. Local units may support emergency response operations in accordance with established MOUs, federal law and local military policies. B. Support Agency 1. FEMA a. Receive requests for federal military assistance from the state EOC, following a presidential disaster declaration. b. Coordinates requests for federal military assistance through the defense coordinating officer, who provides liaison between FEMA Region X, US NORTHCOM and the DoD, ESF 20: Military Support for Civilian Authorities/September 2014 4 of 5
2. Pierce County Department of Emergency Management Serve as the county s primary coordination agency between local jurisdictions and the Washington Military Department for requests for military support during disasters and/or emergencies. VI. REFERENCES Washington Emergency Management Division CEMP, March 2011 Memorandum of Understanding, 2014 Department of Defense Directive 3025.18, September 2012 Defense Support of Civil Authorities Joint Publication 3-28, July 31, 2013 VII. TERMS AND DEFINITIONS See Appendices 1 and 2 VIII. ATTACHMENTS A. Washington National Guard Capabilities B. Possible Missions for Department of Defense Assets C. Memorandum of Understanding- Immediate Health and Medical Response ESF 20: Military Support for Civilian Authorities/September 2014 5 of 5
ESF 20 Defense Support for Civilian Authorities Attachment A. WASHINGTON NATIONAL GUARD CAPABILITIES Limited air and land transportation of personnel and/or equipment. Armories, tents and available land. Limited power generation capabilities. Limited air traffic control functions. Light urban search and rescue forces. Limited water purification Supplementary security forces to patrol damaged areas, establish roadblocks and direct traffic for the preservation of law and order. Supplementary communications capabilities within organic unit resources. Aerial reconnaissance, photographic missions and chemical, biological and radiological monitoring as required. Coordinates with WSDOT in accordance to ESF-7, Resource Support to provide aforementioned assistance. Limited emergency medical assistance. Limited mass feeding. Inspections of WMD facilities damaged by an emergency or disaster. Assistance for emergency traffic regulation and movement control. Rapid response teams in support of flood operations. Mass decontamination support of a CBRN event. Wild land firefighting assistance after proper training. Response Task Force trained to assist local law enforcement crowd control to include personnel trained with non-lethal capabilities. Provide local law enforcement with the ability to rapidly identify unknown substances.
ESF 20 Defense Support for Civilian Authorities Attachment B POSSIBLE DOD SUPPORT MISSIONS Command and control of employed DoD forces and assets. Water purification. Urban search and rescue. Military Working Dog support for explosive detection. Interim housing sites. Debris removal. Field sanitation. Life support (e.g. shelter, food, medical) Transportation. Wild land fire fighting. Manual labor. Air support.