Naval Operations Concept - Defense Technical Information Center

Naval Operations Concept 2010
Reactive HA/DR
Reactive HA/DR operations not only meet the urgent needs of the
partner, they enhance Naval Service mission readiness across the full
range of military operations. Usually requiring only modest adjustments
to how naval forces are organized, deployed, and employed, reactive
HA/DR operations pose the same challenges to naval forces as those
encountered during security related crisis response operations. Employing
expeditionary naval capabilities—intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance (ISR), maneuverability, sustainability, lift, medical care,
construction engineering, and more—combined with planning and
command and control (C2) proficiency; joint and interagency protocols;
habitual military-to-military and political-military relationships with
partners; and growing relationships with other international and
non-governmental organizations; the Naval Service is uniquely suited
to respond to disasters and to provide humanitarian assistance across a
broad range of circumstances. Formal C2, supported/supporting, and
coordination relationships with the responding entities will be rapidly
established to ensure that the responsible authority possesses the latitude
and wherewithal to meet the unique demands of the crisis. In this
regard, the Naval Service will be mindful of the host nation’s sovereignty
and will respond with due regard for the host nation’s desires and the
U.S. lead agency’s direction.
The Naval Service has staged critical HA/DR supplies on select ships, and
prepositioned larger quantities at forward locations around the world,
including Souda Bay in the Mediterranean, Diego Garcia in the Indian
Ocean and Guam in the Western Pacific. This posture reduces the
response time for reactive HA/DR missions and permits the Naval Service
to better leverage the flexibility of globally dispersed, mission-tailored forces.
Summary
In today’s globally connected world, news of humanitarian crises
and natural or man-made disasters is reported almost immediately.
Although the primary focus of naval forces remains combat effectiveness,
their multi-mission capabilities allow those same forces to provide
rapid assistance that can mitigate human suffering and restore critical
partner capacity.