Should We Revisit Civil Defense?
America was at war
The war in Europe was on the minds of everyone in the world. The newsreels were full of images of war and attacks on the civilian populated areas. The fear that this could happen in the United States spread across the land. On May 20, 1941, President Roosevelt set up the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD) to coordinate state and federal measures to protect civilians in a war-related emergency. The OCD organized the United States Citizens Defence Corps to recruit and train volunteers to perform essential tasks for the defense of the US homeland. When Japan attacked the United States on December 7, 1941, the American People were ready to support a nation at war.
After WWII ended, a new threat was on the horizon, the threat of an attack from a new superpower, the Soviet Union. In the 1950s, when the arms race started, every American was positive it was only a matter of time before a nuclear war or an invasion from the Red Army would happen. On December 1, 1950, The OCD was reformed as the Federal Civil Defense Administration.
The civil defense era was a period of anxious preparation for an attack from abroad by airplanes and missiles. Still, civil defense in the United States was more than backyard shelters and the shame of Duck and Cover the fence against nuclear war. So the defenders trained volunteers, organized state and local associations, educated citizens about fire and flood safety, and generally engaged the public.
What is missing from the Department of Homeland Security?
Yes, we have the Citizen Corps, and I think their programs are great; however, something is missing to a greater degree from today's Homeland Security Programs. I believe that we can take lessons learned from the Civil Defense era programs. Bring the Citizen back to the table. CERT is a great program. However, it is missing some of the home protection components that the Civil Defense programs had. Now I am not saying we need to get people to build fallout bunkers in their backyard. However, we need to put more funding and effort into bringing the programs to communities.
We need to make Citizen Corps programs more diverse, bringing them to underserved communities, funding programs in K-12 schools, and getting the community involved in the process.
What do you think is missing from our current programs? Let us know in the comments.
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Our Supporters
We need some form of civil defense. Right now we are fully and completely vulnerable to the nuclear threat. And although it may not happen nearby or soon (hopefully), it will happen someday and somewhere and we have to do more to be ready. Great piece Todd!
I think getting community buy in is the key. Living in California and being trained in SAR and earthquake preparedness we have preached for decades to have an earthquake kit in your home yet if the danger is not staring you in the face the urgency wanes. After WWII there was a clear and present danger that WAS staring people in the face and CD became popular among the masses yet it too faded when danger was no long a current "in your face" threat. I am also a CERT team manager and see the community apathy even today. Should a disaster strike you will have a lot of untrained people willing to help.