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October 2, 2019
Defense Primer: Defense Support of Civil Authorities
Introduction
surveillance, road and fencing construction, transportation,
The U.S. military has a long history of providing support to
maintenance, and communications support. National Guard
civil authorities, particularly in response to disasters, but for
personnel operating under the control of border state
other purposes as well. The Defense Department currently
governors are providing similar support.
defines defense support of civil authorities as “Support
provided by U.S. Federal military forces, DOD civilians,
Request for Assistance
DOD contract personnel, DOD Component assets, and
The typical method for providing this type of support is
National Guard forces (when the Secretary of Defense, in
through a request for assistance (RFA). There are two
coordination with the Governors of the affected States,
distinct methods to initiate defense support of civil
elects and requests to use those forces in title 32, U.S.C.,
authorities: an RFA from civil authorities, or the direct
status) in response to requests for assistance from civil
authorization of the President or Secretary of Defense. An
authorities for domestic emergencies, law enforcement
RFA from civil authorities will come from the lead federal
support, and other domestic activities, or from qualifying
agency (such as the Federal Emergency Management
entities for special event.” (DOD Directive 3025.18).
Agency), and in some cases will be validated by a Defense
Coordinating Officer (DCO). DCOs are assigned to the
Defense support of civil authorities in response to disasters
multi-agency coordination centers (joint field offices)
is typically carried out in accordance with the National
established at domestic emergency incident sites. Figure 1
Response Framework (NRF), which is a structure of
depicts how RFAs are generally processed, although
preparedness that guides the nation in responding to
requests may have nuances that can create variations in the
domestic disasters and emergencies. The NRF is always in
RFA process.
effect and its structures, roles, and responsibilities can be
partially or fully implemented in response to a threat or
DOD evaluates requests based on six criteria:
hazard. It aims to produce a scaled response with
appropriate coordination. Under the NRF framework, local
Legality: compliance with the law
and state governments are expected to put forth their best
Lethality: potential for use of lethal force by or against
effort during incidents within their jurisdiction. They should
DOD personnel
only request federal assistance when their resources are
overwhelmed. At that point, DOD may provide support in
Risk: safety of DOD personnel
response to the Request for Assistance (RFA), typically as

part of a broader federal response.
Cost: source of funding and effect on the DOD budget
Readiness: impact on DOD’s ability to perform its
Examples of Defense Support of Civil Authorities
primary mission
Historically, defense support of civil authorities has been

used in situations such as:
Appropriateness: whether providing the support is in
the interest of DOD
 Response to natural disasters
If the request is granted, DOD will coordinate with the
 Special events, such as presidential inaugurations
requesting agency, FEMA, on-scene personnel and/or other
response partners to determine the support to be provided.
 Border security

Immediate Response Authority
Oil spill response
In certain circumstances, it may not be possible to secure

timely approval for an RFA through the normal channels
described above. In these cases, military commanders and
For example, in 2017 DOD supported the federal
certain DOD civilians have the authority to immediately
government response to four disasters that occurred
respond to requests for assistance from a civil authority “to
between August and December: Hurricanes Harvey, Irma,
save lives, prevent human suffering, or mitigate great
and Maria, and wildfires in California. DOD personnel
property damage within the United States.” (DOD Directive
supported the response by providing food, water, fuel,
3025.18)
power and medical support.
Responding officials must notify the National Joint
Another example of defense support of civil authorities has
Operations and Intelligence Center of the details of the
been DOD’s deployment of active duty personnel to the
response and reassess the situation no later than 72 hours
southwest border in support to the Department of Homeland
after receiving the request to determine if continued DOD
Security. The active duty personnel are performing a
support is necessary.
variety of missions including ground and aerial
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Defense Primer: Defense Support of Civil Authorities
Control of Armed Forces and National Guard
Figure 1. The Request for Assistance (RFA) Process
While active duty forces are under command and control of
the President, National Guard forces remain under the
command and control of their state or territorial governor
unless called into federal service. Both groups can be used
in defense support of civil authority operations. When both
active duty and National Guard personnel are used in
response to an incident, DOD may appoint a dual-status
commander at the request of the governor. The dual-status
commander acts within both chains of command, relaying
orders from the federal chain of command to federal
military forces and from the state chain of command to
National Guard forces.
Laws and Policy Guidance
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act is the statutory authority for disaster relief
of both natural disasters and human-caused incidents. It
authorizes the President to issue a major disaster declaration
or an emergency declaration, which are both decisions to
provide federal aid. The act allows federal assistance to be
given quickly to states and localities.
The Economy Act provides authority for federal agencies
to order goods or services from other federal agencies
provided the “ordered goods or services cannot be provided
by contract as conveniently or cheaply by a commercial
enterprise.” (10 U.S.C. 1535) This permits an agency to
request DOD support in situations other than those outlined
in the Stafford Act.

Military Support to Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies
Note: Approval authority for some RFAs has been delegated to the
provisions (10 U.S.C. §§271-284) authorize certain types of
commanders of U.S. Northern Command and U.S. Indo-Pacific
military support to civilian law enforcement officials and
Command.
agencies. In specified circumstances, support may include
Source: Adapted from Joint Publication 3-28, Defense Support of
use of military equipment and facilities, training and
Civil Authorities, September 14, 2007, Figure II-1.
advising, maintenance and operation of equipment, support
for counterdrug activities, and support for activities to
Possible Future Applications
counter transnational organized crime.
Other possible missions include those associated with
cyber-security threats or national health pandemics. The
The Posse Comitatus Act restricts the extent to which
Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a
DOD personnel can be involved in civilian law enforcement
report in April of 2016 assessing DOD’s plans for
activities. Generally prohibited activities include search,
providing defense support of civil authorities in response to
seizure, and arrest.
a domestic cyber incident and recommending updated
guidance to clarify roles and responsibilities of key
DOD Directive 3025.18 is the DOD regulation governing
organizations and officials. With regard to a health
defense support of civil authorities, setting policies such as
pandemic, DOD could potentially assist in a number of
assignment of responsibility, and criteria for handling
areas, including transportation, health care, communication,
requests.
and security. DOD provided support to the West Africa
Ebola outbreak in 2014, demonstrating the types of support
Reimbursement
it could provide in a domestic health crisis.
Reimbursement of the costs of providing this type of
support defense support varies according to the
Other Resources
requirements contained in the statutory authorities involved
Department of Defense Directive 3025.18, Defense Support of
Civil Authorities (DSCA), December 29, 2010
and the decisions of the President or Secretary of Defense.
DOD considers reimbursable costs to include those
Joint Publication 3-28, Defense Support of Civil Authorities,
associated with cost of additional hiring, overtime, travel,
October 29, 2018
consumables, fuel, and damage of supplies. Non-
reimbursable activities include normal training and

operating costs such as regular pay and allowances of
personnel, benefits, and administrative overhead.
Amelia Litynski, Research Associate
Lawrence Kapp, Specialist in Military Manpower Policy

IF11324
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Defense Primer: Defense Support of Civil Authorities


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