Excerpt from Senate Report No. 352, 102d Congress, 2d Session, A Report to Accompany S. 3114, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 (July3l,1992): Civil-Military Cooperative Action Program As detailed elsewhere in this report, the end of the cold war and the related defense build-down mean that the Armed Forces will have fewer overseas deployments and lower operating tempos. In addition, the roles and missions of the National Guard and Reserve Components will be redefined to place greater emphasis on combat support and combat service support. Although it is essential that our nation maintain strong and flexible military forces, the post-cold war environment means that the Armed Forces will have a much greater opportunity than in the past to assist civilian efforts to address critical domestic problems. The American people have made an enormous investment in developing the skills, capabilities, and resources of the Armed Forces. These resources, if properly matched to local needs and coordinated with civilian efforts, can make a useful contribution to addressing the serious domestic needs of the United States. There is considerable precedent for such an effort. In 1969, for example, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird established a DoD Domestic Action Program "to contribute to the improvement of society, including its disadvantaged members." The Army, under the leadership of Secretary Howard "Bo" Callaway, issued a detailed regulation in 1975 authorizing "use of Department of the Army human and physical resources to assist and support the continued improvement and development of society." Under the program, local military commanders helped communities with activities such as fixing up recreation facilities and conducting summer programs for disadvantaged young people. The program was decentralized, and the regulatory guidance was rescinded in 1988, but individual programs at local installations have continued to this day. The other services have sponsored similar programs over the years. The Navy, for example, established a Personal Excellence Partnership Program in 1985 to help America's youth become better educated, healthy, and responsible citizens. Navy volunteers have assisted thousands of young people with mentoring, tutoring, coaching, health and science fairs, environmental projects, and other community service projects. Six of these projects have been recognized under the President's "Daily Points of Light" program. As the nation restructures our Armed Forces over the next decade, the attention of DoD civilian and military leadership must remain focused on training the Armed Forces for their military missions. That goal, however, is compatible with enhancing the military's ability to assist in meeting domestic needs. Creative commanders have always devised innovative activities for their units, beyond routine training, to build morale and unit cohesion. Community service projects present an excellent opportunity to do so while providing important services to society. Members of the Armed Forces have the training, education, and experience to serve as role models for the youth of our nation. The nation has significant domestic needs in areas such as health care, nutrition, education, and infrastructure that cannot be met by current and anticipated governmental and private sector programs. Civil-military cooperative efforts to address these problems can be undertaken in a manner that is consistent with the military mission and does not compete with the private sector. The committee recommends a provision that would provide a statutory basis for domestic assistance-the Civil- Military Cooperative Action Program. The program would be governed by three essential principles: (1) any project under the program must be undertaken in a manner that is consistent with the military mission of the unit in question; (2) the project must fill a need that is not otherwise being met, and should not compete with the private sector or with services provided by other government agencies; and (3) the program cannot become a basis for justifying additional overall defense expenditures or for retaining excess military personnel. Projects should be undertaken only with personnel, resources, and facilities that exist for legitimate military purposes. The legislation would authorize the Secretary of Defense to use the skills, capabilities, and resources of the Armed Forces to assist civilian efforts to meet the domestic needs of the United States. The proposal would require that this assistance be provided "in accordance with other applicable law." This means that projects under the Civil- Military Cooperative Action Program would be subject to the same statutes that otherwise govern activities of the Department of Defense. The Program would have the following objectives: (1) enhancing individual and unit training and morale through meaningful community involvement; (2) encouraging cooperation between civilian and military sectors of society in addressing areas of domestic need; (3) advancing equal opportunity and improving relations among racial and ethnic groups; (4) enriching the civilian economy through education, training, and transfer of technological advances; (5) improving the environment and economic and social conditions; and (6) providing opportunities for disadvantaged citizens. It is not the purpose of the legislation, however, to assign to the Department of Defense the responsibility for accomplishing those objectives. Therefore, while the Department of Defense is authorized to use its resources to assist civilian officials, the legislation would not assign to the Department of Defense the primary federal responsibility for addressing these problems. The legislation would authorize the Department of Defense to use its resources for Civil-Military Cooperative Action projects. The committee intends that the Department do so through the use of resources that have been acquired for military purposes. As a general matter, the committee expects the Department to minimize the number of personnel and resources that are applied exclusively to this Program; rather, it would assign personnel and apply resources to the Program in conjunction with traditional military functions. For the program to achieve its broader goals, it must be a cooperative effort between the civilian and military sectors, and not simply a military response to domestic problems. The legislation would provide that the Secretary of Defense should encourage the establishment of advisory councils on Civil-Military Cooperation at the state, regional, and local levels to recommend projects, activities, and guidance for the Program. The committee anticipates that activities of the National Guard will be coordinated at the state level, while activities of active duty installations could be coordinated at the state, local, or regional level. The councils should include officials from relevant military organizations, representatives of appropriate local, state, and federal agencies, representatives of civic and social service organizations, and business and labor representatives. The legislation would require the Secretary of Defense to issue regulations governing assistance under this section, including the following: (1) rules governing the types of assistance that may be provided under this section; (2) procedures governing the delivery of assistance so that, insofar as practicable, such assistance is provided in conjunction with, rather than separate from, civilian efforts; (3) procedures for appropriate coordination with civilian officials to ensure that the assistance will meet a valid need and will not duplicate other public services; (4) procedures for the provision of assistance in a manner that does not compete with the private sector; (5) procedures to minimize the degree to which DoD resources, including personnel, are applied exclusively to the program; and (6) standards to ensure that assistance is provided in a manner that is consistent with the military mission of the applicable organization. The committee intends these rules to provide maximum decentralization and minimal approval requirements so that the program is not strangled by paperwork and coordination procedures. The legislation would make it clear that the provision should not be construed as authorizing use of the Armed Forces for law enforcement purposes, since military assistance to domestic law enforcement agencies is governed by Chapter 18 of Title 10, United States Code. However, this does not restrict cooperative action programs with police officials in matters that do not involve enforcement of the laws, such as recreation and education programs. The legislation also would not authorize use of Department of Defense personnel or resources for any program, project, or activity that is otherwise prohibited by law. The Armed Forces have earned a well-deserved reputation for the excellence of their training and education programs. Military personnel are particularly well-qualified to provide valuable assistance in addressing the significant problems that challenge our nation's schools. At the present time, several installations have entered into cooperative agreements with local school boards to provide such assistance. The committee believes that such efforts should be given particular attention and support in the implementation of the Civil-Military Cooperative Agreement Program. Excerpt from House Report No. 966, 102d Congress, 2d Session, The Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 5006, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 (Oct. 1, 1992): Civil-Military Cooperative Action Program (Sec. 1081) The Senate amendment contained a provision (Sec. 1060) that would authorize the Secretary of Defense to establish a civil- military cooperative action program to use the skills, capabilities, and resources of the Armed Forces to assist civilian efforts to meet critical domestic needs of the United States. The program would have the following objectives: (1) enhancing individual and unit training and morale through meaningful community involvement; (2) encouraging cooperation between civilian and military sectors of society in addressing areas of domestic need; (3) advancing equal opportunity and improving relations among racial and ethnic groups; (4) enriching the civilian economy through education ' training, and transfer of technological advances; (5) improving the environment and economic and social conditions; and (6) providing opportunities for disadvantaged citizens. The program would be governed by three essential principles: (1) any project under the program must be undertaken in a manner that is consistent with the military mission of the unit in question; (2) the project must fill a need that is not otherwise being met, and should not compete with the private sector or with services provided by other government agencies; and (3) the program cannot become a basis for justifying additional overall defense expenditures or for retaining excess military personnel. Projects should be undertaken only with personnel, resources, and facilities that exist for legitimate military purposes. The House amendment contained no similar provision. The important role that the military can play in meeting domestic needs has been underscored by the critical role of the Armed Forces in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. Although the relief effort required the cooperative efforts of many federal, state, and local entities, only the Department of Defense had the equipment and personnel to provide the logistics and infrastructure necessary for the timely provision of essential food, shelter, medical, sanitation, and communications services for a disaster of this magnitude. The conferees agree that a vibrant civil-military cooperative action program can assist civilian officials in addressing a variety of domestic needs, consistent with the military mission and the primary role of other government agencies and the private sector in dealing with domestic matters. The House recedes. Back to Table of Contents Domestic Missions for the Armed Forces Back to SSI List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by US Army War College. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com