Naval Militia: Emergency Response Option | in Homeland Security
Naval Militia: Emergency Response Option | In Homeland Security http://inhomelandsecurity.com/naval-militia-an-overlooked-domestic-em... April 30, 2015 By LTC (OH) Deano L. McNeil, MPA, MCP Special Contributor for In Homeland Security The United States government and the governments of the states and territories utilize a multi-tiered military and emergency management force structure to prepare and respond to issues pertaining to homeland security and domestic military operations. This force structure includes active and reserve federal military forces, the United States Coast Guard, National Guard forces, state defense forces, and state emergency management agencies. However, within the area of state defense forces, one of the most overlooked and underutilized homeland security assets are naval militia forces. The fact that naval militia resources are underutilized is particularly striking given the number of states that border on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, the major rivers that traverse the United States, and the port and harbor assets associated with those maritime assets. Naval militia are the predecessors of the United States Naval Reserve and have a history dating back to colonial America. In 1775, when the Navy was created by the Continental Congress, each colony, and later state, possessed armed naval vessels under the control of the state government. Today, there are two types of naval militia within the United States. The first type is considered a component of the Organized Militia of the United States, under United States Code (USC) Title 10, Section 311(b)(1), along with the National Guard. Naval militias formed under Title 10 are able to receive various forms of federal military materials and facilities support, in accordance with USC Title 10, Section 7854, provided that a minimum of 95 percent of the militia’s membership are Navy and Marine Corps reservists and the militia’s organization, training, and administration meets Department of the Navy standards.
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