NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS STATE DEFENSE FORCES AND THEIR ROLE IN AMERICAN HOMELAND SECURITY by Jonathan R. Pohnel March 2015 Thesis Advisor: Erik J. Dahl Second Reader: Carolyn C. Halladay Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED March 2015 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS STATE DEFENSE FORCES AND THEIR ROLE IN AMERICAN HOMELAND SECURITY 6. AUTHOR(S) Jonathan R. Pohnel 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. IRB Protocol number ____N/A____. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited A 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) State Defense Forces (SDFs), or organized state militias and naval militias, have a long and distinguished history of service in the United States. These state-sanctioned organizations are substantiated and legitimized through the U.S. justice system and constitutional law. Currently, 23 states and U.S. territories have SDFs; unlike National Guard units, they cannot be federalized, which means they remain a state-level asset during emergency management operations. SDFs were utilized successfully during Hurricane Katrina, proving their value in state and federal emergency response efforts. This thesis seeks to analyze the structure and usefulness of the SDF as a volunteer emergency response organization. Second, it seeks to understand the evolution of the SDF by examining U.S. militia history. Third, it examines the disaster-relief efforts of SDFs with regard to Hurricane Katrina. SDFs provide state governors with emergency response personnel who are locally available and ready to serve in multiple capacities. Presently, state officials can promote legislation and develop a mission-flexible State Defense Force that can act as a reserve force for local law enforcement and the National Guard during natural and man-made disasters. The SDF may be the next step in the evolution of state and local emergency response in the 21st century. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF state defense forces, homeland security PAGES 89 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UU NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited STATE DEFENSE FORCES AND THEIR ROLE IN AMERICAN HOMELAND SECURITY Jonathan R. Pohnel Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy B.A., Middle Tennessee State University, 2001 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES (HOMELAND SECURITY AND DEFENSE) from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL March 2015 Author: Jonathan R. Pohnel Approved by: Erik J. Dahl Thesis Advisor Carolyn C. Halladay Second Reader Mohammed M. Hafez, Ph.D. Chair, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT State Defense Forces (SDFs), or organized state militias and naval militias, have a long and distinguished history of service in the United States. These state-sanctioned organizations are substantiated and legitimized through the U.S. justice system and constitutional law. Currently, 23 states and U.S. territories have SDFs; unlike National Guard units, they cannot be federalized, which means they remain a state-level asset during emergency management operations. SDFs were utilized successfully during Hurricane Katrina, proving their value in state and federal emergency response efforts. This thesis seeks to analyze the structure and usefulness of the SDF as a volunteer emergency response organization. Second, it seeks to understand the evolution of the SDF by examining U.S. militia history. Third, it examines the disaster-relief efforts of SDFs with regard to Hurricane Katrina. SDFs provide state governors with emergency response personnel who are locally available and ready to serve in multiple capacities. Presently, state officials can promote legislation and develop a mission-flexible State Defense Force that can act as a reserve force for local law enforcement and the National Guard during natural and man-made disasters. The SDF may be the next step in the evolution of state and local emergency response in the 21st century. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. MAJOR RESEARCH QUESTION................................................................2 B. IMPORTANCE ................................................................................................2 1. Economic Importance ..........................................................................2 2. Political and Historical Importance ...................................................3 C. PROBLEMS AND HYPOTHESES ...............................................................4 D. METHODS AND SOURCES .........................................................................4 E. THESIS OVERVIEW .....................................................................................5 II. STATE DEFENSE FORCES: AN OVERVIEW ......................................................7 A. SDF COMPOSITION AND COMMAND STRUCTURE ...........................9 B. SDF AND NATIONAL GUARD INTERACTION AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS .........................................................................................12 C. POSSE COMITATUS ADVANTAGE ........................................................15 III. THE COLONIAL MILITIA—THE GENESIS OF THE STATE DEFENSE FORCE........................................................................................................................17 A. THE EARLY COLONIAL MILITIA 1607–1754 .......................................17 B. ENGLISH PHILOSOPHY ............................................................................20 C. COLONIAL MILITIAS AND THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR .......21 IV. THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR MILITIA AND THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION ..................................................................................................25 A. THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS ..............................................25 B. THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS AND THE CONTINENTAL ARMY ..............................................................................27 C. THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION ................................................30 V. THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK TO THE MODERN SDF ..............33 A. THE CONSTITUTION AND THE MILITIA ............................................33 B. THE SECOND AMENDMENT ...................................................................37 C. THE MILITIA ACTS OF 1792 ....................................................................38 D. THE DICK ACT ............................................................................................39 E. WWI TO THE PRESENT ............................................................................40 F. TITLE 32 U.S. CODE § 109 AND TENNESSEE SDF LEGISLATION ..41 VI. STATE DEFENSE FORCES AND HURRICANE KATRINA.............................43 A. SDFS AND THEIR ROLE IN HURRICANE KATRINA .........................45 B. U.S. MILITARY, NATIONAL GUARD, AND SDF RESPONSE ............47 C. FUNDING KATRINA DISASTER RELIEF ..............................................48 VII. CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................53 APPENDIX .............................................................................................................................57 A. PATRIOT MILITIA ETHOS AND U.S. MILITIA HISTORY ................57 B. WEAKNESS OF THE CONFEDERATION ..............................................58 vii C. THE CONFEDERATION, ANARCHY, AND OFFENSIVE REALISM .......................................................................................................58 D. THE SDFS IN CONTRAST TO THE PATRIOT MILITIAS ..................60 LIST OF REFERENCES ......................................................................................................65 INITIAL DISTRIBUTION LIST .........................................................................................73