Navy Region Hawaii N-Focus: Spotlight on Defense Support of Civil Authorities Hawaii (N3N DSCA)

24 October 2024

From Donald W. Randall, Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii - Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) is the liaison between the military and civil authorities during times of crisis. DSCA facilitates the support of U.S. military assets and personnel to assist civil authorities should a crisis occur that local or state authorities can no longer manage.

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One of more than 30 N codes at Commander, Navy Region Hawaii (CNRH), N3N consists of the DSCA Hawaii Navy Reserve unit, which serves as a critical liaison between CNRH and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); U.S. Army North, Commander; U.S. 3rd Fleet (C3F)’ and the State of Hawaii for disaster recovery.

N codes are the operational backbone of a Navy command. Each N code functions as a department with a specific set of responsibilities and dedicated staff. Many N codes have sub-codes that oversee specific programs. The N code system was developed to provide a structure of the U.S. Navy for the chief of naval operations organization, which is typically illustrated in the command’s organizational chart.

Capt. Caroline Rodi is the Navy Emergency Preparedness liaison officer and commanding officer of DSCA Hawaii.

“The unit consists of eight service members ranked from Lieutenant Commander to Captain. All members of the unit are trained Navy Emergency Preparedness liaison officers (NEPLOs), but specific roles include liaison officer to U.S. Army Pacific, Hawaii, and C3F,” said Rodi.

The NEPLO program is entirely comprised of Navy Reservists. The fact that there are no active-duty equivalents performing the liaison role makes them unique. Typically, the reserve force functions as a backup or augment to the active component, but NEPLOs are an exception across the Navy Reserve where there is no active-duty equivalent. 

N3N DSCA is important to the command and the community. It plans and prepares for the worst possible disaster scenarios, standing ready to support civil authorities for disaster relief.

“The unit is proud to have supported the Maui wildfires and Typhoon Mawar recovery efforts in 2023,” explained Rodi.

Rodi said the NEPLO program is “extremely top heavy,” (in a good way) with more than 100 Reserve captains supporting 53 states and territories and 10 FEMA regions. Rodi is proud of her team and the fact DSCA Hawaii has the only two Lieutenant Commanders in the entire NEPLO program.

“Lt. Cmdr. Lindsay Beeson and Lt. Cmdr. Collin Swick are rock stars who have utilized their civilian experience to quickly come up to speed and serve as the most junior designated NEPLOs in the entire program,” she explained. Beeson worked for FEMA and Swick was a firefighter in Lima, Ohio.

“The N3N team is happy to be part of the CNRH ohana and to meet the unique challenges that disasters in Hawaii would present,” Rodi added.

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