The Pentagon’s Strategy for Homeland Defense and Civil Support should be completed by early 2005 and includes an assessment of how the United States military should respond to homeland security threats. One official said that the military is looking toward sending out an assessment element as soon as a national security threat occurs, without waiting for civil authorities to request their assistance. Since the Department of Defense’s (DOD's) resources are limited, the strategy seeks to balance the management of risk with the strategy’s prioritized objectives. Generally, requests for military support pass through a chain of command; however, military base commanders have the discretion to assist local authorities on their own initiative as long as the action is necessary to save lives or ease human suffering. Homeland security issues account for most of the civil requests for DOD support, including requests to support special events such as Super Bowl XXXVIII. One problem to accessing military support is that military capabilities may already be extended overseas, leaving domestic security to the civil authorities. Officials stress, however, that homeland defense is the military’s first priority and that there will always be sufficient forces available to respond to any attack or threat on the United States. Exhibits