I would hope that was the case but the more I think about it the more it just seems to be inline with the Pentagon preparing for some unforeseen circumstance that will require a full bore military response. The recent failures of Northcom to respond to flooding in the Midwest, tornadoes and the fires in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas should all point to them really not being a player when it comes to the numerous disasters that are plaguing us.
They're planning for massive, region wide disruptions. Anything smaller and Northcom just isn't interested. Read the story for yourself though but as always, here's a nugget. Via Yahoo News.
No one commander had that authority in the aftermath of Katrina, and military and civilian experts say the lack of coordination contributed to the nightmarish delays, duplications and gaps in the huge rescue effort.Yep.
"It was just like a solid wall was between the two entities," said Georgia National Guard Col. Michael Scholes, who was part of the Katrina response.
Top Defense Department officials believe dual-status commanders are the key to reducing at least some of those failures.
"We're going to be able to conduct disaster response operations on a large scale much more efficiently and effectively than we have in the past," said Paul Stockton, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense.Dual-status commanders will provide a "unity of effort that is going to save lives on a large scale," Stockton said in an interview with The Associated Press.
A tornado that destroys a medium sized city in the heartland isn't what they're prepping for. Fires sweeping across the plains of Texas and the foothills in Arizona are beneath their notice too. This is for something else entirely.
Like martial law after a chemical, biological or nuclear attack?
ReplyDeletei'm thinking martial law but to be honest not after an NBC incident more like after a financial collapse.
ReplyDeleteimage the US after austerity measures are put in place. we'll make Greece look like a tea party (pun intended)...
all the major cities could potentially look like war zones.
but good job USS Helm, you made we go where i didn't want to ...
ReplyDeleteif we default on our debt we will have alot of unrest unfortunately, i knwo we need to get our fiscal house in order but defaulting isnt the way to do it, and if we do heaven helps us.
ReplyDeletebeen down that road though...what will we cut? defense? you're cutting jobs in a recession. welfare? then the riots that you're afraid of will come.
ReplyDeletei'm not sure what the answer is, all i know is that it will be painful...either we determine to apply the pain gradually or it'll be forced on us in a huge way.
oh and if you're fooling yourself and watching the stock market then be advised...the stock market is ignoring basic fundamentals. i don't know how its working now but its not following historic precedence. LM cuts 1500 jobs, a weak jobs report came out Thursday afternoon but it goes up 150 pts on Friday?
thats just doesn't make sense. everything is being manipulated and it can't last. when it crashes i can't wait to watch the madness.
i understand we need to take care of our debt, i dont know the answers, its hard what to cut. i think alot of things like the give aways to corportaions who are making record profits is a start. we need to look at hard social security and medicare (especially the cap on how much income is taxed, only the first 106K of social security is taxed). we need to rapidly look at how to reduce our deficit, promote job growth, yet i dont see playing chicken with teh debt limit is the way to do it and if we do interest rates spike, which would spike the interest we pay on our existing debt and we have to borrow more anyway just spend less on defense, and other programs. we need grownups in DC, real leaders, we have too many people that remind me of a three year old who puts their hands over the ears screaming not wanting to hear what others say and that not a way to have a democracy. our debt is a national security issue and we need to be back to fiscal stanity without jeopardizing defense, and alot of things discussed here like winding down being an international police force can help.
ReplyDeletei wish i could give you an answer, yes its insanity, i mean look at oil prices, the market has enough oil, gas stocks are good, everything, yet every time someone in the middle east says something oil prices spike because of these damn speculators. i dont know the answer sol, i just know the people who will be hurt will not be the people making the decisions, and thats the saddest part.
What about the real natural disasters that Northcom can provide resources for... Trucks, water purification systems, communications, security against looting; boats and helicopters which were pivotal during Katrina. The Army Corps of Engineers, which should have a bigger role in dealing with the integrity of our infrastructure.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's more likely for civil unrest because of the current economic climate, but our civil population is well armed and would be difficult to control, even for the US Army and or National Guard. It wouldn't be 100% containment, that's for sure. Not to mention it would strategically let our guard down against foreign elements, while dealing with such a domestic disturbance, it's a no win situation.