The Department of Defense Civil Disturbance Plan, also known by its cryptonym GARDEN PLOT, was a general US Army and National Guard plan to respond to major domestic civil disturbances within the United States. [1] The plan was developed in response to the civil disorders of the 1960s and fell under the control of the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM). It provided Federal military and law enforcement assistance to local governments during times of major civil disturbances.
The Garden Plot plan—drafted after the Watts, Newark, and Detroit riots—captures the acrimonious times when the document was drawn up. The "Plot" warns against "racial unrest," as well as "anti-draft" and "anti-Vietnam" elements." [2]
The Pentagon activated Garden Plot to restore order during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. [3] Garden Plot was superseded by USNORTHCOM Concept Plan (CONPLAN) 2502 following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. [4] [5] Under Homeland Security restructuring, it has been suggested that similar models be followed.
Oversight of these homeland security missions should be provided by the National Guard Bureau based on the long-standing Garden Plot model in which National Guard units are trained and equipped to support civil authorities in crowd control and civil disturbance missions.
— Major General Richard C. Alexander, ARNGUS (Ret.), Executive Director, National Guard Association of the United States, Testimony in the Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing on Homeland Defense, April 11, 2002 [6]
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. The secretary of defense's position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the president of the United States, who is the commander-in-chief. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a defense minister in many other countries. The secretary of defense is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate, and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council.
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The Homeland Security Act (HSA) of 2002, was introduced in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and subsequent mailings of anthrax spores. The HSA was cosponsored by 118 members of Congress. The act passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 90–9, with one Senator not voting. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush in November 2002.
U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security is one of twelve subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. It was formally established in 2003 in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 to oversee national security programs and the newly created Department of Homeland Security. The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations has joint jurisdiction with the United States House Committee on Appropriations over all appropriations bills in the United States Congress. Each committee has 12 matching subcommittees, each of which is tasked with working on one of the twelve annual regular appropriations bills.
The United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for non-military authorities in the U.S., and protecting the territory and national interests of the United States within the continental United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, The Bahamas, and the air, land and sea approaches to these areas. It is the U.S. military command which, if applicable, would be the primary defender against an invasion of the U.S.
The Baltimore riot of 1968 was a period of civil unrest that lasted from April 6 to April 14, 1968, in Baltimore. The uprising included crowds filling the streets, burning and looting local businesses, and confronting the police and national guard.
The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a United States federal law that empowers the president of the United States to deploy U.S. military and federalized National Guard troops within the United States in particular circumstances, such as to suppress civil disorder, insurrection, or rebellion.
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The Oklahoma Military Department is an agency of the state of Oklahoma that serves as the administrative agency for all matters concerning the Oklahoma National Guard. Under the authority and direction of the Governor of Oklahoma as commander-in-chief, the agency is responsible for planning, establishing, and enforcing rules and procedures governing the administration, supply, and training of the Oklahoma National Guard, when not in the active service of the United States, the Oklahoma State Guard and the Oklahoma Unorganized Militia. The Department also maintains all state-owned, licensed or leased facilities, including Camp Gruber.
The Puerto Rico State Guard (PRSG) —Spanish: Guardia Estatal de Puerto Rico— is the state defense force of Puerto Rico that operates under the sole authority of the governor of Puerto Rico who, in turn, delegates such authority to the Puerto Rico Adjutant General. The Guard's secondary purpose is to assume the state mission of the Puerto Rico National Guard in the event that the National Guard is mobilized. The first incarnation of the PRSG was created in 1941 in response to World War II and it disbanded in 1946. The PRSG was revived in 1971 and has remained in continuous existence since then. The PRSG is one of the few state defense forces of the United States that has an air division.
The Adjutant General of Kansas is the highest-ranking military official in the State of Kansas and is subordinate to the Governor of Kansas. The Adjutant General is a member of the Governor's Cabinet and advises the Governor on military and emergency management matters. The Adjutant General runs the day-to-day administration of the Kansas Adjutant General's Department, including the Kansas National Guard.
The King assassination riots, also known as the Holy Week Uprising, were a wave of civil disturbance which swept across the United States following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. Some of the biggest riots took place in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, and Kansas City.
The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014 is an appropriations bill that was introduced into the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress. The bill would appropriate money to various government agencies related to the United States Department of Homeland Security. This funding would be used during fiscal year 2014, which ends September 30, 2014. The United States House Committee on Appropriations recommended "$38,993,000,000 in discretionary funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for fiscal year 2014, $34,885,000, or .09 percent, below the amount requested and $613,205,000, or 1.55 percent, below fiscal year 2013 enacted levels."
Martial law in the United States refers to times in United States history in which in a region, state, city, or the whole United States was placed under the control of a military body. On a national level, both the US President and the US Congress have the power, within certain constraints, to impose martial law since both can be in charge of the militia. In each state, the governor has the power to impose martial law within the borders of the state. In the United States, martial law has been used in a limited number of circumstances, such as New Orleans during the Battle of New Orleans; after major disasters, such as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, or during riots, such as the Omaha race riot of 1919 or the 1920 Lexington riots; local leaders declared martial law to protect themselves from mob violence, such as Nauvoo, Illinois, during the Illinois Mormon War, or Utah during the Utah War; or in response to chaos associated with protests and rioting, such as the 1934 West Coast waterfront strike, in Hawaii after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and during the Civil Rights Movement in response to the Cambridge riot of 1963.
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