text: Signal Support by Army Echelon, Core Competencies, Training, and the Army Network
  2-125. Signal elements may need to interconnect with various military and commercial communications
  systems. Compatibility issues may limit the availability of secure communications. The use of disparate
  communications systems among mission partners introduces additional planning requirements for defense
  support of civil authorities and homeland defense missions.
  2-126. Differing systems, use of allocated civilian and military bandwidth, and limited interoperability
  complicate collaborative incident management. Signal elements supporting defense support of civil
  authorities and homeland defense missions collaborate and interoperate with joint and interorganizational
  partners. These partners include other Military Services and Departments, state and Federal Government
  agencies, local authorities, and non-governmental organizations.
  Defense Support of Civil Authorities
  2-127. Army support of civil authorities is a vital aspect of the Army’s service to the Nation and a way it
  maintains trust with citizens (ADP 3-28). The skills that allow Soldiers to accomplish their missions on
  battlefields can support local, state, tribal, and federal civil authorities, especially when domestic emergencies
  overwhelm the ability of local government agencies to respond adequately. During defense support of civil
  authorities, the DOD serves in a supporting role to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other
  federal agencies.
  2-128. Because not all mission partners can access the DODIN, signal elements tasked for these missions
  need to interoperate with commercial communications systems. The DODIN-A and DOD gateway can
  provide connections to the commercial Internet and commercial telephone service for collaboration with non-
  DOD mission partners.
  2-129. Army National Guard units activated under state control (state active duty or Title 32) operate under
  a separate chain of command from active duty task forces and National Guard troops under federal control
  (Title 10). Communications interoperability between these forces enables better coordination between the
  separate chains of command.
  2-130. Local communications infrastructure may be inoperable or unreliable after a natural or man-made
  disaster. The lack of land-based and wireless communications hampers emergency management and first
  responder operations. Signal units routinely deploy to provide communications and DISN services in austere
  environments. The same expeditionary capabilities are ideally suited to establishing emergency
  communications in areas with damaged infrastructure. Because these units have organic power generation
  equipment, they can establish communications before the commercial power grid is restored, though they
  need fuel and other logistical support. Expeditionary signal units can provide—
  * Emergency restoral of first responder communications.
  * Command post communications—voice, data, and video teleconferencing.
  * Network connectivity to disseminate the common operational picture.
  * Communications to coordinate logistical support.
  * Connection to civilian communications infrastructure to interoperate with emergency responders
  and nongovernmental organizations.
  * Communications to areas outside the disaster zone.
  Homeland Defense
  2-131. The DOD is the primary federal agency for homeland defense. The strategy for homeland defense
  protects U.S. territory against attack by state and non-state actors through an active, layered defense. This
  strategy aims to deter and defeat aggression abroad while protecting the homeland. The Army supports this
  strategy with capabilities in the forward regions of the world, in the geographic approaches to U.S. territory,
  and within the U.S. homeland. Army signal elements may provide communications to support missions
  protecting U.S. sovereignty, territory, domestic population, and critical defense infrastructure against external
  aggression or other threats, as directed by the President.
  2-132. Strategic signal capabilities contribute to the United States’ day-to-day defensive posture by
  supporting attack warning and assessment, enabling situational understanding, and helping secure the