Why the Military Forces? The Role and Capabilities of Military Forces in the Protection against Disasters

Abstract

The events of recent times have proven that disasters have become part of our lives. The greatest danger is caused by the damage to and the destruction of the built environment, which makes the population vulnerable. Nowadays, in order to provide effective actions against disasters, complex disaster management systems have evolved throughout Europe, and protection has become an all-society task. Military forces of a given country are also involved in this task. The question arises what kind of damages are caused to the built environment by disasters, how the elimination of damages is resolved and what role the reformed military forces may have in it. In this article, the author has set out to analyze the characteristics of incident sites created by disasters, identifying their impacts on the built environment, as well as the tasks or capabilities needed to perform these tasks. In the light of this, she investigates if military organizations, through their basic function, have all the capabilities that, without special improvements, can make them capable of effectively contributing to the provision of rescue tasks.