National Guard to take on more homeland defense duties

The National Guard will play a greater role in protecting critical infrastructure in the United States from terrorist attacks, the Defense Department's assistant secretary for homeland defense said Tuesday.

Military studies of potential domestic terrorist attacks have determined that the National Guard should not only protect the defense industrial base but also critical infrastructure that has previously been defended by civilian law enforcement agencies, said Paul McHale, who became Defense's head of homeland defense almost a year ago.

"I would anticipate that with recurring frequency National Guard forces, under the command of a state governor, will be deployed to defend critical infrastructure in the country," McHale said during the Defense Manufacturing Conference in Washington.

McHale called the new responsibility an "emerging mission requirement" for the National Guard, and said the Pentagon will increase the number of weapons of mass destruction civil support teams in the Guard from 32 to 55 by next year. The teams are designed to work with first responders to detect and react to the use of chemical or biological agents or other weapons of mass destruction on U.S. soil. Ten teams were certified in 2000 and 22 others have been added since then. Each team has 22 members and is outfitted with detection equipment, mobile laboratories and command posts.

The military is responsible for protecting the U.S. defense industrial base, such as military bases and labs. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the military provided support for domestic law enforcement agencies and organizations. The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the military from conducting domestic law enforcement operations, but exceptions to the law have allowed Defense to take on extra responsibilities in supporting homeland security efforts.

McHale said ongoing studies reveal that civilian law enforcement agencies may not have the firepower and capabilities to handle all potential attacks. In the future, the National Guard will be the lead organization that coordinates military and civilian responses to terrorist threats and attacks against some critical infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants, McHale said.

"The need for the deployment of a heavy weapons capability to defeat a threat is becoming more apparent," he said.

McHale said the Pentagon reviewed the Posse Comitatus Act and determined that it would not be a violation to deploy the National Guard to protect critical infrastructure in some circumstances. He said he expects more presidential directives in the future to expand the military's homeland defense role.

McHale added that Marine and Army active and reserve forces are ready to respond to domestic terrorist threats at a moment's notice. "The forces are immediately available and for the most part have been drawn from the active component."

He said the role of the National Guard has been brought under "careful and strategic review" and, from now on, will be responsible for "robust and critically important homeland defense missions."

McHale also said he believes, based on recent meetings with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, that a "significant and growing" portion of the annual Defense budget will be directed toward homeland defense activities.