After the Homeland Security act of 2002, the United States Coast Guard was moved from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security. This move was conducted without any significant changes to the federal laws governing the operations, establishment and deployment of the Coast Guard. Titles 14 and 10 still provide the federal codes for the Coast Guard’s operation and availability to the Department of the Navy. The Department of the Navy provides the funding for training, equipment and …show more content…
Currently, the any equipment or assets obtained by the National Guard must be military in nature with a combat focus. Dual-use equipment obtained must have a combat role. This would not be the case under the Department of Homeland Security. The National Guard would be authorized to have response specific equipment, as well as the dual-use military equipment.
Conclusion
Utilizing the Coast Guard as a model, the reassignment of the National Guard from the Department of Defense to the Department of Homeland Security would cause little to no disruption to its members. It would enable the National Guard and the Governors who employ them more flexibility due to an increased priority and focus on domestic security defense. The Coast Guard has demonstrated that the federal codes governing the use, formation, and deployment of the National Guard would be minimally impacted. The transfer of authority for the National Guard would not be an unprecedented act. The Coast Guard was moved from one federal agency to another in 2002, thus creating the model to move the National Guard. The Coast Guard has been utilized in every major combat operation since its inception, thus demonstrating the viability of a military organization primarily reporting to a non-Department of Defense