ABSTRACT

CONTENTS Introduction............................................................................................ 402 The Military’s Response to Disaster Before and After September 11....... 402 Hurricane Katrina: A Failed Response..................................................... 403 The Military’s Role in Disasters .............................................................. 404 The Necessity and Impact of an Increased Military Role ........................ 405 A Militarized Disaster Response and Its Impacts on Civilians ................. 406 The Tenth Amendment, Posse Comitatus, and the Future

of Military Intervention ...................................................................... 407

The Impact of an Expanded Role on the Military................................... 409 The Future of an Increased Militarized Disaster Response

and Public Administration.................................................................. 410 Conclusion.............................................................................................. 412 References ............................................................................................... 413

Introduction The social effects of Hurricane Katrina have raised many concerns about the adequacy of federal response to natural disasters and the role of the military. During the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, branches of the military executed one of the largest search and rescue operations in the United States’ history, which was repeated after Hurricane Rita shortly thereafter. The U.S. Coast Guard deployed hundreds of air and boat crews to rescue over 24,273 people and assisted with the evacuation of an additional 9,462 patients and medical personnel from hospitals and nursing homes; in total 33,735* lives were saved or medically evacuated.