The report recommended that the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security plan for "those extraordinary circumstances when it is appropriate for the Defense Department to lead the federal response."
It was found that in the aftermath of Katrina, the military and the coast guard proved to be the only federal bodies that were capable of promptly carrying out the president’s orders. The military especially as it brought communications, logistics and planning capabilities that were critical to the Katrina relief operations.
But handing over the lead to the military in domestic situations is complicated as US legislation keeps it from engaging in domestic law enforcement. That fact contributed to the delay of US active duty troops in response to the devastating hurricane.
The study said that critical needs were not met due to a slow and bureaucratic process that forced federal agencies to make specific requests for help in order for the military to act.
Frances Townsend, who headed the report, said that the technicality could be resolved with a unified command. "If you have integrated the National Guard and active duty forces this shouldn't be an issue," she said.
Preparations underway
The review identified 11 changes it said should be implemented before June 1, the start of the next hurricane season.
"The 2006 hurricane season is just over three months away," the report said. "Even while the process to implement the lessons learned from Katrina is underway, there are specific steps the federal government can and should take now to be better prepared for future emergencies," it said.
Another report by congressional Republicans last week said federal emergency agencies were unprepared for the August 29 storm and that a more prompt involvement by the government would have improved the disaster response.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff conceded that his department was overwhelmed by last year's hurricane but rejected suggestions he and US President George W Bush were unresponsive.
Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said the National Response Plan will be rewritten to redefine the role of the military in domestic natural disasters.
He said that questions such as what would constitute a major catastrophic event would be sorted out with other members of the president's Homeland Security Council.
"That will be the goal of writing the National Response Plan, to define those things, to have a process in which you can make decisions rapidly to make determinations as to whether it reaches that threshold," he said.