Evolving Models of Using Armed Forces in Domestic Disaster Response and Relief

Abstract

Due to the high level of readiness and their comprehensive capabilities, armed forces are demanded or expected to contribute to the response to incident and disasters of natural, technogenic or manmade origin. Military units may provide surge capacity, unique capabilities, long-term support to relief and recovery or even be the first to respond to a disaster. This article reviews the European experience in the organisation for using armed forces in domestic disaster response and relief operations, models of military employment, examples of military formations specially tailored for disaster response, multinational disaster response and relief formations, and specific military capabilities used in domestic response and relief operations.

Domestic Military Deployments in Response to COVID-19

“…This article contributes to filling that gap by leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic’s global reach to systematically evaluate common hypotheses about when and how militaries are used to respond to domestic disasters in a setting that is globally comparable. A significant theoretical and case-based scholarship addressing the use of militaries in disaster relief (e.g., Croissant et al, 2010 ; Egnell, 2008 ; Gibson-Fall, 2021 ; Head & Mann, 2009 ; Kalkman, 2021 ; Kapucu, 2011 ; Kohn, 2003 ; Laksmana, 2010 ; Levinson, 2008 ; Schrader, 1993 ; Tkacz, 2006 ; Malešič, 2015 ; Pion-Berlin, 2016 ; Pramanik, 2018 ; Ratchev & Tagarev, 2018 ; Tagarev & Ratchev, 2018 ) and research on the securitization of healthcare and disaster response more generally (e.g., Bernard, 2013 ; Curley & Herington, 2011 ; Chigudu, 2016 ; Davies, 2008 ; Enemark, 2009 ; Kamradt-Scott & McInnes, 2012 ; Kelle, 2007 ; McInnes & Lee, 2006 ; McInnes & Rushton, 2013 ; Roemer-Mahler & Elbe, 2016 ; Oshewolo & Nwozor, 2020 ; Watterson & Kamradt-Scott, 2016 ) has generated important hypotheses about what drives domestic deployments in disaster response. 1 These hypotheses tend to highlight the role of disaster-related, state (including military) capacity, and social and political factors in driving the use of militaries in disaster response.…”