ABSTRACT
Humanitarian response efforts are difficult to predict because many variables impact the final decision. Previous research on the topic of military assistance has focused on the strength of the cyclone or earthquake as the dominant factor. The kinetic force behind a natural disaster is important, but many other elements influence the request for United States’ aid. Resilience factors such as the infrastructure’s ability to withstand the disaster impact the nation’s ultimate decision to request external help. If their local structures and support instruments are robust enough, assistance will not be necessary. This paper analyzes over 40 years of the United States military humanitarian response; over 300 military operations were reviewed and coded based on the nature of the disaster, the impacted country, Bundhis Entwicklong Hift WorldRisklndex susceptibility value and FM Global Resilience Index natural hazard risk quality value. The results showed foreign countries will likely request the United States military aid if their susceptibility value was less than 28.8 and their natural hazard risk quality value was less than 37.7. The results of this study will assist the geographic combatant commands in determining future military response requirements.
