As Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Civil Support, Pamela Berkowsky was the Department of Defense Liaison to the National Security Council and federal, state and local agencies on domestic terrorism preparedness and consequence management; she has testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on these matters. While much has changed in the years since 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, including the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense continues to play an important role in disaster response and humanitarian assistance, carrying out these core missions in support of other U.S. government agencies – whether at home (FEMA) or abroad (Department of State). DOD is equipped with the manpower, equipment, capability and legal authority required to deploy relief resources around the world in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. In the event of a domestic or international contingency, Active Duty, National Guard and/or Reserve units can provide medical assistance, logistics and transportation support, engineering, aid distribution, search and rescue and security, among categories of assistance. While DOD’s forward-deployed assets facilitate the delivery of disaster relief and humanitarian assistance overseas, recent catastrophic floods, fires and hurricanes have underscored the importance of equipment pre-prepositioning for effective response efforts at home.

1. Pamela Berkowsky

2. As Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Civil Support, Pamela Berkowsky
was the Department of Defense Liaison to the National Security Council and
federal, state and local agencies on domestic terrorism preparedness and
consequence management; she has testified before the SenateArmed Services
Committee on these matters.While much has changed in the years since 9/11
and Hurricane Katrina, including the establishment of the Department of
Homeland Security, the Department of Defense continues to play an important
role in disaster response and humanitarian assistance, carrying out these core
missions in support of other U.S. government agencies – whether at home
(FEMA) or abroad (Department of State).

3. DOD is equipped with the manpower, equipment, capability and legal authority
required to deploy relief resources around the world in the event of a natural or
man-made disaster. In the event of a domestic or international contingency,
Active Duty, NationalGuard and/or Reserve units can provide medical
assistance, logistics and transportation support, engineering, aid distribution,
search and rescue and security, among categories of assistance.

4. While DOD’s forward-deployed assets facilitate the delivery of disaster relief
and humanitarian assistance overseas, recent catastrophic floods, fires and
hurricanes have underscored the importance of equipment pre-prepositioning
for effective response efforts at home.