The Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities of the House Committee on Armed Services conducted a joint hearing on Responding to Catastrophic Events: The Role of the Military and National Guard in Disaster Response . Among the witnesses was Admiral Thomas H. Collins , Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, who summarized the Coast Guard’s actions following Hurricane Katrina. He testified that the Coast Guard’s primary missions in disaster response are: (1) saving lives in distress and survivability of our own forces for post-disaster response…