National Guard Response Story

This research study examines three recent disasters and the way that the National Guard was able to get their response story into the media. It reviews National Guard response and components of the media such as the story on national television stations, the conversations of key leaders, the presence of key national and state leaders during a response, and the follow-up stories once the initial disaster response is completed. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, it was such a large scale storm that the scope of the disaster dictated the form of media it received. The Greensburg Tornado was a devastating disaster that almost completely wiped out a Midwestern town and garnered the sympathy of the President of the United States. The Coffeyville Floods were a quiet devastation that, despite the oil spill from a local refinery, received almost no national attention. This study considers the National Guard response to these disasters, evaluates that response in a DOTMLPF format, and then makes a recommendation that each State to organize a Mobile Public Affairs Detachment and use it to do a better job of telling the National Guard response story, and ensure that national level media is included into the disaster response planning at the highest levels in order to avoid the use of the media as a marketing and recruiting tool only.

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