The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs, or ASD (HD-HA), is responsible for the supervision of DoD homeland defense activities, defense support of civil authorities, and cyber affairs for the Department of Defense. The position was established by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (P.L. 107-314, passed 2 December 2002). In particular, the ASD (HD&GS) is responsible for homeland preparedness, oversight of the two combatant commands that cover North and South America, and the transfer of technologies to
homeland security
Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...
use, pursuant to Section 1401 of the 2003 DOD Authorization Act.
The ASD (HD&GS) reports to the
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
The United States under secretary of defense for policy (USDP) is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Defense. The under secretary of defense for policy is the principal staff assistant and adviser to both the Unite ...
.
Precedent
At the end of the Eisenhower administration, a wide-ranging federal reorganization (Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958) transferred to the president the civil defense responsibilities and authorities formerly assigned to the Federal Civil Defense Administration. In Executive Order 10952 (signed 20 July 1961), the president delegated these functions to the
Secretary of Defense
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
. The SecDef then created the post of ''Assistant Secretary of Defense (Civil Defense)'' on August 31, 1961, to help manage these responsibilities. Only one man,
Steuart L. Pittman, ever held this post. His term in office ran September 20, 1961 - April 1, 1964, at which time the post was abolished.
The Office of Civil Defense then transitioned to the
Secretary of the Army
The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...
, but responsibility for civil defense was quickly assigned to the new Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (DCPA). After a Carter administration reorganization (Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 19 June 1978) led to the dissolution of DCPA in July 1979, the director of the new
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
assumed responsibility for civil defense.
Nevertheless, DoD continued to maintain and develop resources for civil defense, but with dispersed, overlapping, and informal authorities for growing and coordinating them. The ASD (HD&GS) now provides a single point of contact at DoD for FEMA, state and local disaster management agencies, and executive policymakers in the event that these resources need to be enhanced or mobilized.
Office holders
The table below includes both the various titles of this post over time, as well as all the holders of those offices.
References
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