|
LECTURE
BY
HONORABLE FARRIS BRYANT
DIRECTOR
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY PLANNING
BEFORE THE
NATIONAL WAR COLLEGE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
OCTOBER 13, 1966
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with the jurisdictional management
problems created by the very existence
of 50 States, of 3,050 counties, of
102,392 local taxing jurisdictions, and
of over 7,000 field offices of the
Federal Government. The last thing
we would wish to do is change the
political structure of this Nation since
it represents the very thing we are
fighting for. The problem then is to
harness for the emergency any action
that needs to be taken at these various
political levels. In other words, the
Director of OEP has three major jobs:
First, he is a member of the National
Security Council and as such advises and
assists the President in all nonmilitary
defense matters.
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Second, the Director of OEP
represents the President for emergency
preparedness assignments to 33 agencies
of the Federal Government. He has the
responsibility for developing the nucleus
of a central emergency management organi-
zation and filling all gaps in our exist-
ing Federal structure. I will say
more about this in a moment.
Finally, the Director of DE? on
an every-day basis administers cold
war laws and orders concerned with
defense production, stockpiling, import
of commodities, and communications.
The assignment of emergency
preparedness functions involves, as
I said, 33 agencies. The following
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10 agencies were assigned emergency
preparedness functions in February of
1962: Agriculture; Commerce; Defense;
Federal Aviation; Health, Education and
Welfare; Housing and Home Finance;
Interstate Commerce; Interior; Labor;
and the Post Office. On February 26,
1963, individual Executive order assign-
ments were given the following agencies:
Atomic Energy Commission; Civil Service
Commission; Civil Aeronautics Board;
Federal Communications Commission;
General Services Administration;
Department of State; and Department of
the Treasury. There are many others.
The assignment for the protection
of life and property -- civil defense --
was made to the Department of Defense
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simply because the OEP concept as a
staff arm of the President assumes the
performance of operating tasks elsewhere
and because the Department of Defense
is best qualified of any Federal
agencies to handle the civil defense
task.
I have suggested our next question
might be: What is the current status
of emergency planning?
Let me begin with responsibilities
which are uniquely national rather
than regional or state or local in
character.
The first of these is our task of
managing the Nation's stockpiles of
strategic materials and framing policy
for maintaining these stockpiles at
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levels consistent with national security
requirements.
The Congress has enacted several
laws under which the U.S. Government
acquires some seventy-seven strategic
materials. Foremost among these are
the Strategic and Critical Materials
Stock Filing Act of 1946 and the
Defense Production Act of 1950. The
former grew out of our experiences in
World War II particularly with shortages
due to cut-offs in normal supply sources.
The second was a Korean war measure
designed mainly to provide incentives
to industry. In exchange for expansion
of needed facilities the government
agreed to purchase certain amounts of
materials coming out of these expanded
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facilities. The Government now has
approximately seven billion dollars at
market value of these materials with
by far the larger amounts in the
National Stockpile (a little more than
$5 billion) and about $700 million in
the Defense Production Act inventory.
The remainder, acquired through barter
transactions for surplus agricultural
products, is kept in two separate
inventories -- the Supplemental
Stockpile and the Commodity Credit
Corporation.
Beginning October 1, 1965 the
tempo of disposal of excess materials
held in the stockpiles was stepped up
sharply. Major disposal programs were
reviewed and procedures streamlined to
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speed up the rate of disposal and the
submission of proposed bills to Congress
for those items requiring legislative
consideration.
Juring Fiscal Year 1966, OEP
approved a total of 53 disposal programs
covering the release of 54 materials.
More than $1 billion of stockpile
materials held in the National and Supple-
mental stockpiles and in the Defense
Production Act Inventory were sold or
are committed for sale.
It is worthwhile to spend just a
few moments on the mechanism we use to
determine what we need and what is
excess to our needs. It is a process
which begins with an Interdepartmental
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Advisory Committee chaired by the Office
of Emergency Planning and composed of
representatives from the Departments of
State, Defense, the interior, Agriculture,
Commerce, and Labor, and the General
Services Administration, the Agency for
International Development and other
interested agencies participating as
observers.
0n the basis of these continuous
consultations, the Director of OEP
determines the kind and amount of
materials which are surplus to our
needs and should be authorized for
disposal.
The Director of OEP then authorizes
GSA -- which does the house-keeping
and maintains storage facilities for
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the stockpiles -- to prepare a disposal
plan for a stated amount of material,
often indicating a timetable for the
operation. GSA then prepares its plan,
once more consulting with interested
agencies. During this phase, GSA will
also consult with domestic industries
and will arrange for consultation with
foreign governments. Following this
process GSA will submit its plan to OEP
for final approval and OEP will, if the
plan is acceptable, authorize GSA to
seek Congressional approval if it is
required. If this approval is forthcoming
GSA then undertakes negotiations, calls
for bids and makes the sales.
It is a difficult task. Through
a number of working groups representing
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many agencies and viewpoints, we must
resolve the many issues to be considered
without undue effect upon the domestic
economy and our international relations.
Careful analysis of the potential impact
of each disposal program, therefore, is
essential.
In April of 1964 new conventional
war stockpile objectives were completed
with the advice of the Interdepartmental
Material Advisory Committee; a complete
determination of such objectives had
not been made prior to that since 1958.
We are now in the process of determining
stockpile objectives for nuclear war
based upon supply requirements developed
for assumed post-attack conditions. This
has never heretofore been done by
gnvernment or industry .
Admiral Lee, Gentlemen:
It is a privilege and an honor to
meet this morning with the distinguished
members of the National War College
faculty and student body for a discussion
of the Office of Emergency Planning and
the National Security.
It is also, I am told -- and the
reputation of this institution confirms
this view -- an experience calculated to
shake the confidence of the most intrepid
of government spokesman. I make no
claim to intrepidity, nor unshakeability.
We convene here at a time when the
instruments and the institutions of our
free society are showing once again the
strength and stability of our democracy.
The struggle half-way across the globe
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Another economic responsibility of
the Office of Emergency Planning is under
Section 232(b) of the Trade Expansion
Act. The Office of Emergency Planning
investigates claims that imports are
threatening to impair the national
security. Such questions may be raised
by private parties, other Federal agencies,
the President, or the Director of the
Office of Emergency Planning. When
industries raise a question of a threat
to the national security a formal petition
for redress is filed. We then order a
thorough investigation. if the article
is found to be imported in such quantities
and circumstances as to threaten or
impair the national security, I so advise
action he deems appropriate. Four
import cases are now under investigation;
they deal with textiles, antifriction
bearings, jeweled watch movements, and
residual oil. While the investigation of
residual oil imports has not been formally
completed, interim guidance has been sent
to Secretary of the Interior Udall indi-
cating that control of these imports could
be substantially relaxed without impair-
ment of the national security. This
guidance reflects information received
from the Secretary of Defense which
takes into account the current military
situation.
A key element of our program
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of mobilization of the nation's economy
in time of emergency is a system to
manage resources. The history of the
last two World Wars shows it has taken
as much as seven years to bring this
system to a peak of efficiency. During
World War il some 18 different mobiliza-
tion concepts were tried before the Fed-
eral Government found a suitable struc-
ture. Reliance on gradual build-up is
the last thing that we can afford today.
An important part of the wa*:now being
completed was originally designed to
meet nuclear war. It has now been re-
cast as a basis for lesser degrees of
mobilization. This is the Plan l refer-
red to earlier, called the Office of
Defense Resources.
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The! concept for "The Office of
Defense Resources," was approved by
President Johnson more than two years ago.
The Office of Vmergency Planning is the
Federal custodian for this concept. In
effect, it is a standby plan to assist
the President to determine what we would
need to prosecute a war and to keep our
civilian economy going at the same time.
It would spring into being only when the
President so orders. Until that time it
would remain a paper structure. It is
tested and refined and continuously
improved through the medium of exercises
and drills.
Among the voluntary measures which
would be part of the mobilization effort
are:
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Measures to encourage industnywto
expand production of essential goods and
services, to curtail non-essential pro-
duction, and to construct or convert
facilities for essential uses by means
of special financing arrangements, tax
incentives and competition for govern-
ment procurement orders. -Others might
involve training and retraining programs
to increase productivity and skills and
to bring new workers into the labor force.
Still others could be concerned with
public information programs to obtain
the voluntary cooperation of individual
citizens, industry, labor, and other
organized groups.
Mandatory emergency measures, some
of which are presently available, would
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also be used, but only 3§_L§ggiggg by the
national interest. In the case of others
such as price, wage and rent controls,
it would be necessary to obtain statutory
authority not now available. All told
mandatory measures which could be used
are those dealing with priority and
allocation systems, price and wage
controls, consumer rationing, inventory
controls and antihoarding orders, con-
servation measures, import and export
controls, and requisitioning orders.
Again I would stress that controls
of any kind are a last resort. They can
never really substitute for a free,
exuberant economy. We plan for them not
because they will be needed, but because
they could be needed.
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In designing these plans we now
enjoy the advantages of modern computer
technology to help officials decide what
they need and where and when they would
need it. The computer system to support
these officials is in operation as of
this moment and is staffed by representa-
tives of at least 20 agencies. Emergency
planning has a special need for computers
since we must have all the information
we can gather about the probable effects
of a nuclear attack. There are more
than 800,000 resource records packed
into a man-made brain that can calculate
faster and more accurately than an army
of men. This system is now being re-
programmed and redesigned for use in
limited economic mobilization.
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Next, i come to the federal continuity
of government program which assures con-
tinuing functioning of the vast and com-
plex federal machinery. Under OEP's
direction, the Federal Government has
taken a series of practical steps to
strengthen its abilities to survive and
function under severe emergency conditions.
Some of these steps are:
The establishment of an official
line of succession to key positions to
insure continuity of leadership and author-
ity.
These have been established in all
agencies to meet the prescribed standard
of each successor for headquarters and
at least three for important field offices.
Provisions have been made for the
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emergency transfer of authority to
lower levels in field offices in 11
important agencies.
Emergency facilities have been
established at 712 dispersed locations.
Of these 712, forty-nine would support
headquarters' operations.
Hardened headquarter centers have
been established for some of the key
elements of government.
Survival transportation and com-
munications systems have been establish-
ed to support most emergency centers.
All agencies have prepared inven-
tories of essential records and have
taken steps for their preservation.
Warning systems and procedures
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have been established which automatically
trigger readiness measures in proportion
to the crisis. All agencies receive and
respond to that warning system and
have developed internal alerting systems.
All major departments and agencies are
now interconnected by a special teletype
network capable of this transmission.
Over 3,600 executive reservists have
been appointed in twelve departments and
agencies, including more than 200 in OEP.
They are qualified executives from
industry and the professions who have
volunteered their services to fill key
governmental positions in an emergency.
A national meeting of these reservists
was held here in Washington last October.
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in Vietnam has caused much discussion
and much debate here at home. It is
significant, I think, that we are able
to retain individual prerogatives and
viewpoints, however wrong and damaging
they may be, and still maintain the kind
of sustained effort and stamina which
is needed.
In this regard, there is a parallel
between the historical evolution of
nonmilitary defense and military history.
I am no military expert, but understand
that it is the concensus among
historians that the conventional
economic mobilization techniques of
World War II had their origins in
World War I. It is clear that
productive power and industrial might
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Now, having examined our major
federal responsibilities, I would like
to address myself to the State and local
preparedness. The devastation of a
nuclear attack might make it impossible
for the Federal Government to begin
immediately the program of economic
rehabilitation and recovery. There-
fore, State and local governments will
likely carry much heavier burdens than
in prior conflicts. They, too, must
be ready. To achieve this end we have
established a comprehensive program for
the survival of government and manage-
ment of resources.
This program consists of two parts:
(1) a series of legislative and other
actions to insure the survivability and
continued functioning of State and
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local political authority; and (2) the
development of a capability on the part
of each State to manage its essential
resources with the active participation
of the private sector of our economy.
We have stressed this private participa-
tion since the skills required for resource
management are not normally found in
government. Government does not
schedule steel production, nor does it
route rail traffic. The managerial
expertise can only be found in the private
sector of the economy.
A substantial amount of progress has
already been achieved at the State level.
The legislatures of 34 States have approved
a constitutional amendment which permits
legislation dealing with lines of succes-
siaw, and other continuity has been enacted
in 40 States, the emergency relocation in
39 States, with record preservation and
management having been accomplished in
18 States.
With regard to resource management,
all 50 States have now appointed Emergency
Planning Directors. Forty-Eight States
have established Emergency Resource Plan-
ning Committees. And more than 500 task
groups have been organized in these States
to develop detailed plans for mobilizing
and managing their specific resources.
Procedures for the rapid introduction
of food rationing have already been estab-
lished in 18 States. We hope eventually
to cover other critical items, such as
medical supplies, petroleum, and so forth,
as soon as the States develop the organi-
zational capability to handle a rationing
program.
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So in all these areas OEP is back-
stopping the State and local effort on
a continuing basis. For example, we have
updated the National Plan for Emergency
Preparedness. For those of you who
might not have known of the existence
of The National Plan, let me briefly
explain its purpose.
The National Plan outlines what
should be done by the Federal Govern-
ment, the States, and their political
subdivisions, and by industry, to
survive and recover from a nuclear
attack on the United States. It is a
bFOld document rather than a detailed
one, -- a check list to which every
official can refer -- a reminder of the
things that he must do to keep our
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economy going and our way of life intact.
The Plan contains 16 Chapters, one on
basic principles and 15 on specific
subjects; they are: civil defense, wel-
fare, health, manpower, transportation,
telecommunications, food, water fuel,
energy, material resource management,
economic stabilization, production,
housing, and governmental operations.
The Promulgation statement by
President Johnson in The National Plan
probably indicates more forcefully than
I can describe the President's keen and
continued interest in these vital pro-
grams of emergency planning. The
President states:
"The ultimate objective of civil
emergency preparedness is a partnership
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of the Federal Government, the States,
and the people working to preserve and
enhance our way of life and prepare to
mobilize our personal talent and material
resources in order to meet essential
human needs, to support our military
effort, and to survive as a free and
independent nation..."
Anyone who has worked with
President Johnson, I think can appreciate
that when he zeros in on a particular
objective he means to achieve it. That
kind of sentiment is expressed in still
another paragraph when he says:
"The preparedness plans outlined in
The National Plan for Emergency Prepared-
ness are essential; they must be fulfilled
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In addition to its emergency functions,
our office has been assigned an important
responsibility in the field of telecom-
munications. The Communication Act of
1934, as amended, places the responsi-
bility on the President for assigning
radio frequencies to stations operated
by the federal government. In addition,
the Communications Satellite Act of 1962
places major responsibility upon the
President to foster a national program
for the establishment of a commercial
communications satellite system.
So, with these authorities among
others, the President has assigned
through OEP to the Director of Tele-
communications Management (who also
serves as Assistant Director of OEP)
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a number of important telecommunication
responsibilities.
He is working to establish the
national communications system. For the
President, he assigns radio frequencies
to federal government stations. The
heaviest users of these frequencies, as
you probably already know, are the
Department of Defense, the Federal
Aviation Agency, and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
He also develops data on government
frequency requirements, coordinates
telecommunications activities of the
Executive Branch, and gives policy advice
and assistance to the Department of State
in the field of international communica-
tions policies and negotiation.
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Now, I come to a task that has taken
much of our time - natural disasters.
The last two years have been eventful
ones in the natural disaster field. We
have contended with an epidemic, it
seems, of earthquakes, floods, tornadoes,
hurricanes, and other catastrophes.
Under Public Law 875, enacted in September
1950, a continuing means of assistance
by the federal government to States and
local governments was provided. From
1953 to 1962, allocations from the
President's Jisaster Fund, set up under
the Act, averaged about $11 million a
year. Since 1962,the average has jumped
to over $49 million annually; and in
Alaska alone, following the 1964
earthquake, $60 million came from the
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President's Jisaster Fund, not to mention
the more than $260 millions provided in
grants and loans from other Federal
agencies and departments.
OEP administers the Federal Disaster
Assistance Act for the President. This
means we make recommendations for Presi-
dential allocations from the Disaster Fund,
and we coordinate the entire Federal
establishment in these major disasters.
A year ago last Christmas brought
severe flooding to the Northwest Coast.
Later on tornadoes ravaged the midwest.
In September 1965 the machinery of
federal assistance moved into high gear
to cope with Hurricane Betsy in Florida
and Louisiana. Last November the
northeast coast was hit by a blackout
-3-
became virtually decisive factors during
the War between the States, sometimes
called the Civil War. Armies became
dependent upon long supply lines and the
hardware of war became dependent upon
highly disciplined use of industry.
A much higher priority than ever before
was assigned the objectives of disrupting
lines of communication and transportation
and, finally, destroying means of
production. it became all important to
"get there firstest with the mostest."
Beginning in 1941 this same strategy
was to decide the issues in World War II.
We had learned the value of softening
up the enemy.
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which involved considerable effort by
UEP even though no Public Law 875 funds
were required. In that episode OEP kept
in constant touch with the President,
relaying information as rapidly as our
staff could assemble it. In June 1966
a tornado struck Topeka, Kansas. Thanks
to the U.S. Weather Bureau alert system,
residents of the city received from 13
to 28 minutes advance warning. It gave
them time to find protective shelter.
As a result of Palm Sunday tornadoes
in 1965, the Environmental Science Ser-
vices Administration established a
Natural Jisaster Warning Survey known
as NAJWAS. This has led to a Natural
Disaster Warning System called NADWARN
which is now operating and which promises
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to reduce substantially the loss of life
and the damage to property which occurs
in all natural disasters.
All told, since 1953 allocations
totaling more than $440 million for 237
separate disasters have been made from
the President's disaster fund.
Finally, we come to our mission as
it relates to the National Security
Council.
As you know, I am one of the five
statutory members of the Council, which
includes the President, the Vice President,
the Secretary of Jefense,the Director of
the Office of Emergency Planning, and
the Secretary of State. Other key offi-
cials attend regularly for specific
consultation at the invitation of the
President.
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Most recently our participation in the
discussion of Vietnam policy has been
most vital.
Perhaps, I have talked beyond my
allotted time. I cannot help but think
of the impassioned minister who devoted
a long sermon to the subject of creation.
( A subject which the Bible covered in
less than 400 words.) He went far beyond
his allotted time and apologized when he
concluded. As he walked down from the
pulpit a member of the congregation
seeking to comfort him said," You really
didn't talk long, Reverend -- it just
seemed long."
Certainly it seemed long to me, and
I appreciate your courtesy and attention.
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I hope I can reciprocate with some
straightforward answers to whatever
questions you might have.
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I do not suggest that the foot
soldier did not supply the vital and
final verdict. But the massive
unrelenting attack on supply lines and
means of production was a sine Qua non
of the collapse of the enemy war
machine. An even different application
of the same concept is evident in
Vietnam. I do not have to tell you
about the ten to one ratio of troops
required to counteract guerilla warfare
in Vietnam. The enemy is elusive; his
headquarters are mobile; he conducts
running campaigns; and he declines to
meet us head-on. He also terrorizes
the people, intimidates leaders and
murders those who would resist.
-5...
Plainly the enemy is engaging in a
different kind of war than we know by
experience. It demands different
tactics, different weapons, and different
yardsticks to measure our success or
our failure; but the basic ingredients
are still massive productive power,
mobility and superior strength: getting
there "firstest with the mostest."
I think the same principle holds
true in nonmilitary defense. We plan
to provide the most, first.
Since we cannot hope to cover the
entire range of responsibilities of the
Office of Emergency Planning in one
lecture, I will concentrate on what is
of direct concern to you, telling my
story under four general headings:
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What is the Office of Emer-
gency Planning?
What is the current status of
emergency planning?
How do our activities bear on
the work of the National
Security Council? and,
What impact does the Council
have on our work?
As for the first question -- What
is the Office of Emergency Planning? --
I refer you to Executive Order 11051,
signed by the late President Kennedy in
September 1962. it is the nearest
thing
I have to a job description.
Basic authority for the office stems
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from the National Security Act, the
Federal Civil Defense Act, the Defense
Production Act, the Strategic and
Critical Materials Stock Piling Act,
and the Federal Disaster Act. The
preamble of Executive Order 11051
established the reason for the Office
of Emergency Planning in the following
terms:
1. National preparedness must
be achieved and maintained to support
such varied degrees of mobilization as
may be required to deal with increased
international tension, with limited war,
or with general war, including attack
upon the United States.
-8-
2. National security and our
continuing economic growth and prosperity
are interdependent.
3. Mobilization readiness can be
accomplished most effectively and
efficiently through the performance by
departments and agencies of the govern-
ment of those emergency preparedness
functions related to their established
roles and capabilities.
4. The responsibility for emer-
gency preparedness involves virtually
every agency of the Federal Government
via a central point of leadership and
coordination in the Executive Office
of the President. From a war organi-
zation point of view, OEP must deal
PAGE 1
LECTURE BY HONORABLE FARR IS BRYANT D DIRECTOR OFFICE OF EMERGENCY PLANNING BEFORE THE NATIONAL WAR COLLEGE WASHINGTON, O.C. OCTOBER 13, 1966
PAGE 2
-gwith the jurisdictional management problems created by the very existence of 50 States, of 3,050 counties, of 102,392 local taxing jurisdictions, and of over 7,000 field offices of the Federal Government. The last thing we would wish to do is change the political structure of this Nation since it represents the very thing we are fighting for. The problem then is to harness for the emergency any action that needs to be taken at these various political levels. in other words, the Director of OEP has three major jobs: First, he is a member of the National Security Council and as such advises and assists the President in all nonmilitary defense matters.
PAGE 3
-10Second, the Director of OEP represents the President for emergency preparedness assignments to 33 agencies of the Federal Government. He has the responsibility for developing the nucleus of a central emergency management organization and filling all gaps in our existing Federal structure. I will say more about this in a moment. Finally, the Director of OEP on an every-day basis admin isters cold war laws and orders concerned with defense production, stockpiling, import of commodities, and communications. The assignment of emergency preparedness functions involves, as I said, 33 agencies. The following
PAGE 4
-1110 agencies were assigned emergency preparedness functions in February of 1962: Agriculture; Commerce; Defense; Federal Aviation; Health, Education and Welfare; Housing and Home Finance; Interstate Commerce; Interior; Labor; and the Post Office. On February 26, 1963, individual Executive order assignments were given the following agencies: Atomic Energy Commission; Civil Service Commission; Civil Aeronautics Board; Federal Communications Commission; General Services Administration; Department of State; and Department of the Treasury. There are many others. The assignment for the protection of life and property -civil defense -was made to the Department of Defense
PAGE 5
-12simply because the OEP concept as a staff arm of the President assumes the performance of operating tasks elsewhere and because the Jepartment of Defense is best qualified of any Federal agencies to handle the civil defense task. I have suggested our next question might be: What is the current status S of emergency planning? Let me begin with responsibilities which are uniquely national rather than regional or state or local in character. The first of these is our task of managing the Nation's stockpiles of strategic materials and framing policy fsr maintain ing these stockpiles at
PAGE 6
-13levels consistent with national security requirements. The Congress has enacted several laws under which the U.S. Government acquires some seventy-seven strategic materials. Foremost among these are the Strateg ic and Cr itical Materials Stock Filing Act of 1946 and the Defense Production Act of 1950. The former grew out of our experiences in World War II particularly with shortages due to cut-offs in normal supply sources. The second was a Korean war measure designed mainly to provide incentives to industry. In exchange for expansion of needed facilities the government agreed to purchase certain amounts of mater ials coming out of these expanded
PAGE 7
-14facilities. The Government now has approximately seven billion dollars at market value of these natorials with by far the larger amounts in the National Stockpile (a little more than $5 billion) and about 1700 million in the defense Production Act inventory. The remainder, acquired through barter transactions for surplus agr cultural products, is kept in two separate inventories -the Supplemental Stockpile and the Commod ity Credit Corporation. Beginning October 1, 1965 the tempo of disposal of excess materials held in the stockpiles was stepped up sharply. Major disposal programs were reviewed and procedures streamlined to
PAGE 8
-15speed up the rate of disposal and the submission of proposed bills to Congress for those items requiring legislative consideration. Juring Fiscal Year 1966, OEP approved a total of 53 disposal programs covering the release of 54 materials. More than $1 billion of stockpile materials held in the National and Supplemental stockpiles and in the Defense Production Act Inventory were sold or are committed for sale. It is worthwhile to spend just a few moments on the mechanism we use to determine what we need and what is excess to our needs. It is a process which begins with an Interdeparttmental
PAGE 9
-16Advisory Committee chaired by the Office of Emergency Plann ing and composed of representatives from the Departments of State, Defense, the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor, and the General Services Administration, the Agency for International Development and other interested agencies participating as observers. On the basis of these continuous consultations, the Director of OEP determines the k ind and amount of materials which are surplus to our needs and should be authorized for disposal. The Director of OEP then authorizes GSA -which does the house-keeping aed maintains storage facilities for
PAGE 10
-17the stockpiles -to prepare a disposal plan for a stated amount of mater ial, often indicating a timetable for the operation. GSA then prepares its plan, once more consulting with interested agencies. during this phase, GSA will also consult with domestic industries and will arrange for consultation with foreign governments. Following this process GSA will submit its plan to OEP for final approval and lEP will, if the plan is acceptable, authorize GSA to seek Congressional approval if it is required. If this approval is forthcoinn GSA then undertakes negotiations, calls for bids and makes the sales. It is a difficult task. Through a number of working groups representing
PAGE 11
Iwe n)u I w i LhouL n c --onmy n ,f ch d is ,r -en t f F [ o, :rkp I b t t I rnt ,ver
PAGE 12
Admiral Lee, Gentlemen: It is a privilege and an honor to meet this morning with the distinguished members of the National War College faculty and student body for a discussion of the Office of Emergency Planning and the National Security. It is also, I am told -and the reputation of this institution confirms this view -an experience calculated to shake the confidence of the mont intrepid of government spokesman. I make no claim to intrepidity, nor unshakeability. We convene here at a time when the instruments and the institutions of our free society are showing once again the strength and stability of our democracy. The struggle half-way across the globe
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-1fAnother economic responsibility of the Office of Emergency Plann ing is under Section 232(b) of the Trade Expansion Act. The Office of Emergency Plann ing investigates claims that imports are threaten ing to impair the national security. Such questions may be raised by pr ivate parties, other Federal agencies, the Prenideet, or the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning. When industry ies raise a question of a threat to the national security a formal petition for redress is filed. We then order a thorough investigation. If the article is found to be imported in such quantities and circumstances as to threaten or impair the national security, I so advise
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the rr,-ent t n h Ide theyv del -it' Iea on s i tar
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-21of mobilization of the nation's economy in time of emergency is a system to manage resources. The history of the last two World Wars shows it has taken as much as seven years to bring this system to a peak of efficiency. During World War rI some 18 different mobilization concepts were tried before the Federal Government found a suitable structure. Reliance on gradual build-up is the last thing that we can afford today. An important cart of the work now being completed was originally designed to ment nuclear war. It has now been recast as a basis for lesser degrees of mobilization. This is the Plan I referred to earlier, called the Office of Defense Resources.
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-22The concept for "The Office of Defense Renources," won approved by President Johnson more than two years ago. The Office of emergency Planning is the Federal custodian for this concept. in effect, it is a standby plan to assist the President to determine what we would need to prosecute a war and to keep our civilian economy going at the same time. It would spring into being only when the President so orders. Until that time it would remain a paper structure. It is tested and refined and continuously improved through the medium of exercise and drills. Among the voluntary measures which would be part of the mobilization effort are:
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-23Measures to encourage industry 'to expand production af essential goods and services, to curtail non-essential production, and to construct or convert facilities for essential uses by means of special financing arrangements, tax incentives and competition for government procurement orders. Others might involve training and retrain ing programs to increase productivity and skills and to bring new workers into the labor force. Still others could be concerned with public information programs to obtain the voluntary cooperation of individual citizens, industry, labor, and other organized groups. MaNdatory emergency measures, some of which are presently available, would
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-24also be used, but only as required by the national interest. is the case of others such as price, wage and rent controls, it would be necessary to obta in statutory authority not now available. All told mandatory measures which could be used are those dealing with priority and allocation systems, pr ice and wage controls, consumer ration ing, inventory controls and antihoardinc orders, conservation measures, import and export controls, and requisition ing orders. Again I would stress that controls of any kind are a last resort. They can never really substitute for a free, exuberant economy. We plan for them not because they will be neded, but because tiey could be needed.
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-25In designing these plans we now enjoy the advantages of modern computer technology to help officials decide what they need and where and when they would need it. The computer system to support these officials is in operation as of this moment and is staffed by representatives of at least 20 agencies. Emergency planning has a special need for computers since we must have all the information we can gather about the probable effects of a nuclear attack. There are more than 800,000 resource records packed into a man-made brain that can calculate faster and more accurately than an army of men. This system is now being reprogrammed and redesigned for use in limited economic mobilization.
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-26Next, I come to the federal continuity of government program which assures continu ing function ing of the vast and complex federal machinery. Under tEP's direction, the Federal Government has taken a series of practical steps to strengthen its abilities to survive and function under severe emergency conditions. Some of these steps are: The establishment of an official line of succession to key positions to insure continue ity of leadership and authority. These have been established in all agencies to meet the prescribed standard of each successor for headquarters and at least three for important field offices. Provisions have been made for the 0b
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-27emergency transfer of author ity to lower levels in field offices in 11 important agencies. Emergency facilities have been established at 712 dispersed locations. Cf these 712, forty-nine would support headquarters' operations. Hardened headquarter centers have been established for some of the key elements of government. Survival transportation and communications systems have been established to support most emergency centers. All agencies have prepared inventor es of essential records and have taken steps for their preservation. Warning systems and procedures
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-28have been established which automatically trigger readiness measures in proportion to the crisis. All agencies receive and respond to that warning system and have developed internal alerting systems. All major departments and agencies are now interconnected by a special teletype network capable of this transmission. Over 3,600 executive reservists have 0 been appointed in twelve departments and agencies, including more than 200 in OEP. They are qualified executives from industry and the professions who have volunteered their services to fill key governmental positions in an emergency. A national meeting of these reservists was held here in Wash ington last October.
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-2in Vietnam has caused much discussion and much debate here at home. It is significant, I think, that we are able to retain individual prerogatives and viewpoints, however wrong and damaging they may be, and still maintain the kind of sustained effort and stamina which is needed. In this regard, there is a parallel S between the historical evolution of nonmilitary defense and military history. I am no military expert, but understand that it is the consensus among historians that the conventional economic mobilization techniques of World War 11 had their or igins in World War 1. It is clear that productive power and industrial might
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-29Now, having examined our major federal responsibilities, I would like to address myself to the State and local preparedness. The devastation of a nuclear attack might make it impossible for the Federal Government to begin immediately the program of economic rehabilitation and recovery. Therefore, State and local governments will likely carry much heavier burdens than in prior conflicts. They, too, must be ready. To achieve this end we have established a comprehensive program for the survival of government and management of resources. This program consists of two parts: (1) a series of legislative and other actions to insure the survivability and continued funct ion in of State and
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-30local political authority; and (2) the } development of a capability on the part of each State to manage its essential resources with the active participation of the private sector of our economy. We have stressed this pr ivate participation since the sk ills required for resource management are not normally found in government. Government does not schedule steel production, nor does it route rail traffic. The managerial expertise can only be found in the private sector of the economy. A substantial amount of progress has already been achieved at the State level. The legislatures of 34 States have approved a constitutional amendment which permits legislation dealing with lines of succes0 sice, and other continuity has been enacted
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-31in 40 States, the emergency relocation in 39 States, with record preservation and management having been accomplished in 18 States. With regard to resource management, all 50 States have now appointed Emergency planning directors. Forty-Eight States have established Emergency Resource Planring Committees. And more than 500 task groups have been organ sized in these States to develop detailed plans for mobilizing and managing their specific resources. Procedures for the rapid introduction of food ration ing have already been established in 18 States. We hope eventually to cover other or itical items, such as medical supplies, petroleum, and so forth, as soon as the States develop the organizational capability to handle a rationing program.
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-32So in all these areas OEP is backstopping the State and local effort on a continue ing basis. For example, we have updated the National Plan for Emergency Preparedness. For those of you who might not have known of the existence of The National Plan, let me briefly explain its purpose. The National Plan outlines what should be done by the Federal Government, the States, and their political subdivisions, and by industry, to survive and recover from a nuclear attack on the United States. It is a broad document rather than a detailed one, -a check list to which every official can refer -a reminder of the things that he must do to keep our
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-33economy going and our way of life intact. The Plan contains 16 Chapters, one on basic principles and 15 on specific subjects; they are: civil defense, welfare, health, manpower, transportation, telecommunications, food, water fuel, energy, mater ial resource management, econ sic stabilization, production, housing, and governmental operations. The Promulgation statement by President Johnson in The National Plan probably ind icates more forcefully than I can describe the President's keen and continued interest in these vital programs of emergency planning. The president states: "The ultimate objective of civil emergency preparedness is a partnership
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-34of the Federal Government, the States, and the people working to preserve and enhance our way of life and prepare to mobilize our personal talent and material resources in order to meet essential human needs, to support our military effort, and to survive as a free and independent natfion..." Anyone who has worked with 0 President Johnson, I think can appreciate that when he zeros in on a particular objective he mears to achieve it. That kind of sentiment is expressed in still another paragraph when he says: "The preparedness plans outlined in The National Plan for Emergency Preparedness are essential; they must be fulfilled
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-35In addition to its emergency functions, our office has been assigned an important responsibility in the field of telecommunications. The Communication Act of 1934, as amended, places the responsibility on the President for assigning radio frequencies to stations operated by the federal government. In add ition, the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 places major responsibility upon the President to foster a national program for the establishment of a commercial communications satellite system. So, with these authorities among others, the President has assigned through SEP to the Director of Telecommunications Management (who also serves as Assistant Director of OEP)
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-36a number of important telecommunication responsibilities. He is working to establish the national communications system. For the President, he assigns radio frequencies to federal government stations. The heaviest users of these frequencies, as you probably already know, are the Department of Defense, the Federal Avia tion Agency, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He also develops data on government frequency requirements, coordinates teleoommunications activities of the Executive Sronch, and gives policy advice and assistance to the Department of State in the field of international communications policies and negotiation.
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-37Now, I come to a task that has taken much of our time --natural disasters. The last two years have been eventful ones in the natural disaster field. We have contended with an epidemic, it seems, of earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other catastrophes. Under public Law 875, enacted in September 1950, a contain ing means of assistance by the federal government to States and local governments was provided. From 1953 to 1962, allocations from the President's ]isaster Fund, set up under the Act, averaged about Sti million a year. Sine 1962,the average has jumped to over $49 million annually; and in Alaska alone, following the 1964 earthquake, S60 million came from the
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-38President's Disaster Fund, not to mention the more than $260 millions provided in grants and loans from other Federal agencies and departments. OEP administers the Federal Disaster Assistance Act for the President. This means we make recommendations for Presidential allocations from the Disaster Fund, and we coordinate the entire Federal establishment in these major disasters. A year ago last Chr istmas brought severe flooding to the Northwest Coast. Later on tornadoes ravaged the midwest. In September 1965 the machinery of federal assistance moved into high gear to cope with Hurricane Betsy in Flor ida and Louisiana. Last November the northeast coast was hit by a blackout
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-3became virtually decisive factors dur ing the War between the States, sometimes called the Civil War. Armies became dependent upon long supply lines and the hardware of war became dependent upon highly disciplined use of industry. A much higher priority than ever before was assigned the objectives of disrupting lines of communication and transportation and, finally, destroying means of production. It became all important to "get there firstest with the mostest." Beginning in 1941 this same strategy was to decide the issues in World War I1. We had learned the value of softening up the enemy.
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-39which involved considerable effort by uEP even though no Public Law 875 funds ;ere required. In that episode OEP kept in constant touch with the President, relaying information as rapidly as our staff could assemble it. In June 1966 a tornado struck Topeka, Kansas. Thanks to the U.S. Weather Bureau alert system, residents of the city received from 13 to 28 minutes advance warning. It gave them tme to find protective shelter. As a result of Palm Sunday tornadoes in 1965, the Environmental Science Services Administration established a Natural Jisaster Warning Survey known as NAJWAS. This has led to a Natural Disaster Warning System called NAOWARN which is now operating and which promises
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-4Cto reduce substantially the loss of life and the damage to property which occurs in all natural disasters. All told, since 1953 allocations totaling more than S440 million for 237 separate disastern have been made from the rresident'o disaster fund. Finally, we Come to onr mission as it related to the National Secur ity Gounc i1. An you know, I am one of the five statutory members of the Council, which includes the president, the Vice President, the Secretary of Sefense,the director of the Office of Emergency Planning, and the Secretary of State. uther key officials attend regularly for specific noroultatioc no the invitation of the resi dent.
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-41Most recently our participation in the discussion of Vietnam policy has been most vital. Perhaps, I have talked beyond my allotted time. I cannot help but think of the impassioned minister who devoted a long sermon to the subject of creation. ( A subject which the Bible covered in less than 400 words.) He went far beyond his allotted time and apologized when he concluded. As he walked down from the pulpit a member of the congregation seeking to comfort him said," You really didn't talk long, Reverend -it just seemed long." Certainly it seemed long to me, and I appreciate your courtesy and attention.
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-42I hope I can reciprocate with some straightforward answers to whatever questions you might have.
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-4I do not suggest that the foot soldier did not supply the vital and final verdict. But the massive unrelenting attack on supply lines and means of production was a sine aLt ean of the collapse of the enemy war machine. An even different application of the same concept is evident in Vietnam. I do not have to tell you about the ten to one ratio of troops required to counteract guerilla warfare in Vietnam. The enemy is elusive; his headquarters are mobile; he conducts running campaigns; and he declines to meet us head-on. He also terrorizes the people, intimidates leaders and murders those who would resist.
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-5Plainly the enemy is engaging in a different kind of war than we know by exper ience. It demands different tactics, different weapons, and different yardsticks to measure our success or our failure; but the basic ingredients are still massive productive power, mobility and superior strength: getting there "firstest with the mostest." I think the same principle holds true in nonmilitary defense. We plan to provide the most, first. Since we cannot hope to cover the entire range of responsibilities of the Office of Emergency Planning in one lecture, I will concentrate an what is of direct concern to you, telling my story under four general headings:
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-61. What is the Office of Emergency Plann ing? 2. What is the current status of emergency planning? 3. How do our activities bear on the work of the National Security Council? and, 4. What impact does the Council have on our work? S As for the first question -What is the Office of Emergency Planning? -I refer you to Executive Order 11051, signed by the late President Kennedy in September 1962. It is the nearest thing I have to a job descr option. Basic authority for the office stems
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-7from the National Security Act, the Federal Civil Defense Act, the Defense Production Act, the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act, and the Federal Disaster Act. The preamble of Executive Order 11051 established the reason for the Office of Emergency Planning in the following terms: 1. National preparedness must be achieved and maintained to support such varied degrees of mobilization as nay be required to deal with increased international tension, with limited war, or with general war, including attack upon the United States.
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-82. National security and our continuing economic growth and prosperity are interdependent. 3. Mobilization readiness can be accomplished most effectively and efficiently through the performance by departments and agencies of the government of those emergency preparedness functions related to their established roles and capabilities. 4. The responsibility for emergency preparedness involves virtually every agency of the Federal Government via a central point of leadership and coordination in the Executive Office of the President. From a war organization point of view, OEP must deal
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