Utah Chief Says No Thanks to Military Disaster Aid
More sense: Huntsman joins two other Western leaders in stressing local emergency know-how

Article Last Updated: 11/09/2005 02:04 AM

by Jacques Billeaud -- The Associated Press
Salt Lake Tribune

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - States should continue to rely on their local authorities and National Guard troops to respond to disasters, rather than have the active military take a greater role in the aftermath of such emergencies, three Western governors said Tuesday.

President Bush has suggested a greater role for the military in responding to disasters, saying in September that the military's training, command structure and resources put it in a position to lead recovery efforts.

The governors of Arizona, Montana and Utah said it makes more sense for disaster response efforts to be coordinated by local authorities and National Guard units, because they have expertise in confronting those types of emergencies.

'You really have to begin with your first-responders and work upward and outward, as opposed to working from Washington, D.C., downward,'' Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said at a news conference Tuesday at the opening of a Western Governors' Association meeting in Arizona.

A portion of the group's two-day meeting will focus on whether Western states are prepared for large-scale disasters. Napolitano, chairwoman of the group, said Bush's idea may come up during the conference.

Governors from states outside of the West, such as Mississippi, Michigan and Delaware, also have criticized the idea.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Bush's idea is an unconstitutional attempt to usurp the states' authority over their National Guard units, which are heavily invested in the Iraq war.

''They take away our assets and say, 'Since you can't do your job, we are going to send somebody else in,''' Schweitzer said.

Schweitzer criticized the Bush administration earlier this year for its overseas use of the National Guard, saying his state needed troops at home for fire season.

Utah Gov. John Huntsman said emergencies in his state have been well managed because local and state authorities have expertise in disaster response and familiarity with their communities.

''Those closest to disaster, those closest to the emergency, are best equipped to deal with it,'' Huntsman said.

If local and state authorities can't handle the demands of a disaster, they can reach out to the federal government for help, Huntsman said.

''It should not work the other way around,'' Huntsman said.