Pentagon backs dual leaders in domestic crises

A single military commander should not lead both active-duty and National Guard forces during a domestic crisis, a senior Defense Department official said Thursday.

Paul McHale, the Pentagon's assistant secretary for homeland defense, told senators during a hearing that he has changed his mind concerning whether one person should have been placed in charge of all military forces involved in the response to Hurricane Katrina.

After the storm plowed into the Gulf Coast at the end of August, McHale recommended to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that a single military officer command active-duty forces and National Guard troops in Louisiana. President Bush agreed, but Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco rejected the idea.

McHale told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that he has now come to realize that the concept, which is commonly referred to as dual-hatting, will not work during a domestic catastrophe.

"A dual-hatting command falls apart if you have a difference of opinion between two executives," he said. "In a crisis environment, I think it's almost inevitable that the president and a governor will have differences of opinion. To put an officer in a crossfire between the two of them, I think is untenable."

McHale said he still believes that giving one commander total authority during a noncrisis situation, when there is time to plan, makes sense.

Lawmakers in both the Senate and House are investigating the response of all levels of government to Hurricane Katrina, and are expected to make recommendations that affect operations at several federal agencies.

Senators on Thursday continued to say the Pentagon did not respond fast enough to Hurricane Katrina.

"With a few individual exceptions, the Pentagon's preparations for this cataclysmic storm in the days before landfall were slow and unsure," said committee ranking member Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn. "Situational awareness was poor, and the Pentagon was hesitant to move necessary assets unless they were requested."

McHale disputed Lieberman's statement, saying Defense acted with urgency and was proactive a week before the storm hit.

"To move up the timeline of active-duty forces much more quickly than we did will require a very fundamental review of what we expect of the Department of Defense," McHale said. "If we are to be the first responders, you have to change the character, training and equipment, as well as the legal authorities."

The committee is evaluating whether active-duty forces should be given more responsibility for domestic catastrophes, or whether the National Guard should be given more resources to better respond, Lieberman said.

McHale noted the responsibilities of civilian federal agencies. But he said the Pentagon believes the National Guard is best-suited to respond to domestic crises and can then be augmented with active-duty forces if necessary.