Comments From the Department of Defense

See comment 2.

See comment 3.

Since the GAO undertook this study last July, the federal government, at the President's direction, has increased its effort to coordinate and streamline its WMD preparedness and response programs. The report's conclusions do not reflect this commitment to interagency cooperation and coordination. Further, the findings demonstrate a lack of understanding of the complex federal response system and its requirements, and of the magnitude of support that likely will be required to mitigate the catastrophic effects of a domestic WMD attack.

The draft report takes into account only a select portion of DoD's capacity to respond to terrorist use of weapons of mass destruction on domestic targets. It makes reference to interviews with both civilian and military responders who do not have current knowledge of the DoD program or of the ongoing coordination between DoD and other organizations. A complete, current and accurate assessment of the roles and missions of the RAID teams, when considered in the broader context of the federal government's sophisticated WMD response system, will validate the requirement for these teams and the contributions they can make in support of the nation's first responder community.

Thank you for your attention to these comments. Specific comments for technical accuracy and clarification have been forwarded separately.

Sincerely,

Clare C. Cagin

Charles L. Cragin
Acting

Encl.

The National Guard has consistently and aggressively articulated the specific
roles and missions of the RAID team to Federal agencies, states and territories
(through State Adjutants General), and the first responder community in support
of the DOD plan. This is an on-going process. The National Guard has
conducted conferences with more than 100 representatives from local, State, and
Federal agencies, along with corresponding private associations, where the
RAID team roles and missions were briefed and openly discussed. The State
Adjutants General of the states within which a RAID team is located are actively
involved in ensuring that their RAID team is fully integrated into state emergency
response plans. Similarly, the ten states are assisting other non-RAID team
states in the integration of the RAID team into their emergency response plans.
DoD representatives routinely attend state and regional conferences where the
concerns of many state and local officials and the first responder community
regarding the RAID teams are addressed.

These elements serve as the "tip of the military response spear." They are
designed to operate in either a state or Federal status and serve as the eyes and
ears of the military Response Task Forces that may be required. They are
designed to serve as a critical communications link between the first responders,
the technical and scientific experts in DoD, and the follow on military forces that
may be called on to assist.

Governors consistently view the RAID team as another important asset for use in any Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) incident. This point is supported by the fact that more than 15 states have expressed an interest in or requested a RAID team for their states.

Comments From the Department of Defense

See comment 7.

See comment 8.

2) GAO found that there are differing views on the role and utility of the RAID teams and how they will fit into plans to respond to weapons of mass destruction.

As has been pointed out in several previous GAO reports, there is a great deal of confusion within the Federal interagency community, as well as between the various Federal, state, and local jurisdictions. Responsibilities of individual organizations are evolving. DoD remains engaged with these local, state, and Federal response organizations to understand their requirements and determine how to best meet their requests for military support.

It has become clear, through a number of efforts and studies, that the local response communities do not have, and are not likely to ever get, a capability to respond to a WMD incident without outside assistance. The Federal component of this assistance will be conducted primarily in accordance with the Federal Response Plan.

Under the Federal Response Plan, the Department of Defense is tasked to provide support under every Emergency Support Function. Most, if not all, of the Emergency Support Function lead agencies have determined that they do not have the full capacity to respond to a major WMD incident and would call upon the Department of Defense to assist.

DoD clearly has a significant support role in domestic WMD response, and the RAID team is a critical component of the DoD plan to execute this support. The assessment conducted by the RAID team not only provides valuable information and support to the civil responders, it also provides the leadership within DoD with an assessment of military support requirements, and has the ability to facilitate the employment of military assets at the request of civil authorities. This technically competent unit has the capability to rapidly deploy to an incident site. They have an understanding of DoD's complex structure, organizations, and capabilities. This knowledge, which does not exist among civil responders, can be critical to a timely and effective response.

3) GAO asserts that there are numerous local, state, and Federal
organizations that can perform similar functions to the RAID teams.

The RAID team is not designed to take the place of a traditional Hazardous
Materials Team, a Metro Medical Strike Team (MMST), or other specialized
organizations such at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Hazardous
Materials Response Unit (HMRU) or the Army Technical Escort Unit (TEU).

The report specifically expressed concerns about a conflict between the RAID team and HMRU missions. While somewhat similar in structure and capabilities,