The Posse Comitatus Act was created to limit the military's role in civilian law enforcement. The original act was passed in June 1878 as part of the Army appropriation bill. The National Security Act of 1947 further directed the Secretary of Defense to publish regulations that do not permit direct participation by the Army or Air Forces in search, seizure, arrest, or other similar activities, except when permitted by law. The Posse Comitatus Act does not apply the National Guard formation while under state control and therefore allows governors the flexibility to utilize the Guard in support of law enforcement missions. This exception is lost once National Guard formations are called to serve on Active Duty. This book will explore the history of the use of a Posse Comitatus before and during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and present day situations. The book will examine when the Posse Comitatus Act applies and when it does not apply to active duty and National Guard formations. Exceptions to the law which have been granted by Congress for counter drug operations, suppression of insurrection and emergency situations related to weapons of mass destruction will also be examined. Three situations will be examined in detail including the Los Angeles Riots in 1992, the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Seattle in 1999, and the use of Military Police in Samson, Alabama in 2009. Finally, this book will examine command and control issues related to the use of Federal Armed forces in support of local law enforcement. The Posse Comitatus Act restricts the Federal Government in all but extraordinary situations. Its intent to limit federal involvement in domestic affairs is still sound. In the future, commanders at all levels should be required to receive training on the Posse Comitatus Act to ensure understanding and intent. Congress should consider allowing active duty units to serve under state command and control and the Posse Comitatus Act should be left as a federal law.

The Posse Comitatus Act was created to limit the military's role in civilian law enforcement. The original act was passed in June 1878 as part of the Army appropriation bill. The National Security Act of 1947 further directed the Secretary of Defense to publish regulations that do not permit direct participation by the Army or Air Forces in search, seizure, arrest, or other similar activities, except when permitted by law. The Posse Comitatus Act does not apply the National Guard formation while under state control and therefore allows governors the flexibility to utilize the Guard in support of law enforcement missions. This exception is lost once National Guard formations are called to serve on Active Duty. This research paper will explore the history of the use of a Posse Comitatus before and during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and present day situations. The paper will examine when the Posse Comitatus Act applies and when it does not apply to active duty and National Guard formations. Exceptions to the law which have been granted by Congress for counter drug operations, suppression of insurrection and emergency situations related to weapons of mass destruction will also be examined. Three situations will be examined in detail including the Los Angeles Riots in 1992, the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Seattle in 1999, and the use of Military Police in Samson, Alabama in 2009. Finally, this paper will examine command and control issues related to the use of Federal Armed forces in support of local law enforcement. The Posse Comitatus Act restricts the Federal Government in all but extraordinary situations. Its intent to limit federal involvement in domestic affairs is still sound. In the future, commanders at all levels should be required to receive training on the Posse Comitatus Act to ensure understanding and intent. Congress should consider allowing active duty units to serve under state command and control and the Posse Comitatus Act should be left as a federal law.

Anytime the use of US Armed Forces in support of civil authorities is considered, government and military leaders, pundits, and citizens reflexively turn to the Posse Comitatus Act for guidance. Since 9/11, the US Armed Forces face an increased likelihood that they will be called on to participate in actions typically viewed as civil matters. Many have also called for an increased role for the US Armed Forces in responding to natural disasters. Though many constitutional provisions, laws, and legal rulings govern this question, in the minds of many, the Posse Comitatus Act has prominence. Most individuals think they know what the Posse Comitatus Act allows and disallows; most of them are wrong.

Although military policy seems focused on overseas threats, defending the homeland is, of course, the ultimate objective. This guide examines emergent threats to the USA homeland such as speciality weapons, cyber attacks and ballistic missiles and delineates the army's responsibilities.

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Hurricane Katrina, in Aug. 2005, was the costliest hurricane as well as one of the five deadliest storms in U.S. history. It caused extensive destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas. Some 22,000 Active-Duty Army personnel assisted with relief-and-recovery operations in Mississippi and Louisiana. At the same time, all 50 states sent approx. 50,000 National Guard personnel to deal with the storm¿s aftermath. Because the media coverage of this disaster tended toward the sensational more than the analytical, many important stories remain to be told in a dispassionate manner. This study offers a dispassionate analysis of the Army¿s response to the natural disaster by providing a detailed account of the operations in Louisiana and Mississippi.

CMH 30-15. Army Historical Series. 2nd of three planned volumes on the history of Army domestic support operations. This volume encompasses the period of the rise of industrial America with attendant social dislocation and strife. Major themes are: the evolution of the Army's role in domestic support operations; its strict adherence to law; and the disciplined manner in which it conducted these difficult and often unpopular operations.

1. As you know, in the last few months since the President's death and the abrupt retirement of the Vice President, there have been some instances of public unrest. I fully appreciate that the threat of disorder occasioned by the absence of a Chief Executive precipitated your assumption of power as Commander-in-Chief, UAFUS, and your designation of yourself as permanent Military Plenipotentiary of the United States. It is obvious to me that strong leadership is needed in these troubled times. Indeed, I am convinced that it was inept civilian leadership that caused our defeat in the Second Gulf War. 2. Despite the approval of your actions by The Referendum, it was still necessary to make several arrests for acts of sedition. One of these traitors, I am sorry to say, is a retired officer and a 1992 graduate of the National War College. The officer, Prisoner 222305759, has been convicted by court-martial and is awaiting execution. In violation of my standing orders, the prisoner was allowed writing materials. Somehow he managed to draft a letter to a fellow alumnus chronicling what he calls the "Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012." By hand-writing the letter he defeated the electroscriber scanners we placed in his cell. Fortunately, our security forces were still able to intercept it. 3. Because of its potential interest to you, a copy of the prisoner's letter is attached. As the document indicates, the prisoner evidently had secreted into the stockade old notes, articles, and newspaper clippings he saved from his War College days. These documents were recovered in a search of the prisoner's cell. For your edification, I have had an intelligence agent analyze them and annotate your copy of the letter with endnotes citing these references where appropriate. 4. Upon receipt of your order affirming the sentence of the court, Prisoner 222305759 will be executed in accordance with applicable directives. /s/ Ben N. Dykarnilt General, UAFUS