United States Civil Defense - Past and Present Civil Defense Agencies

Past and Present Civil Defense Agencies

Since its creation by President George W. Bush after the September 11, 2001 attacks, United States Civil Defense has been concentrated within the cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Between 1979 and 2001, the duties of Civil Defense were served by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Originally an independent agency, FEMA was absorbed into to DHS in 2003. Before the creation of FEMA on March 31, 1979 the responsibility for civil defense in the United States was shared between a wide variety of short-lived and frequently changing departments, agencies, and organizations. Some of the pre-FEMA organizations important in the history of US Civil Defense include:

  • NYPD Auxiliary Police
  • Council of National Defense
  • Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) in the Executive Office of the President (EOP)
  • Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the Office of Emergency Planning
  • Civil Defense Corps within the Office of Civilian Defense
  • Civil Air Patrol
  • National Security Resources Board (NSRB), both as an independent agency and as an office within the Executive Office of the President
  • Office of Defense Mobilization in the Executive Office of the President
  • Defense Production Administration in the War Department, now called the Department of Defense
  • Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization in the Executive Office of the President
  • Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization in the Executive Office of the President
  • Office of Emergency Planning in the Executive Office of the President
  • Office of Emergency Preparedness in the Executive Office of the President
  • Office of Preparedness in the General Services Administration
  • Federal Preparedness Agency in the General Services Administration
  • Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA), both as an independent agency and as a board within the Executive Office of the President
  • Defense Civil Preparedness Agency
  • United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

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