Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§182 Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART I — ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL MILITARY POWERS › CHAPTER 7 — BOARDS, COUNCILS, AND COMMITTEES › § 182

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Allows the Secretary of Defense to run a Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. The Center must teach, train, and research how the military works with other agencies and other countries during disasters. It must also provide high-quality disaster response help. The Center will cover things like nuclear, biological, and chemical events; terrorism effects; how reserve forces can help in disasters; gathering and sharing disaster information using advanced communications (like a virtual library); and tropical medicine tied to military readiness. It must build a set of disaster risk indicators for the Asia‑Pacific region and can do other tasks the Secretary assigns. The Secretary can team up with a college or university to run the Center and have that school handle administration and money. The Secretary can accept donations from U.S. or foreign governments, charities, and private groups to pay for or improve the Center, but must not take gifts that would make the Department or its people act unfairly or hurt program integrity. The Secretary must write rules for deciding about foreign donations. Accepted donations are added to the Defense funds for the Center and used for the same purposes and time limits as those funds.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §182

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment.—
The Secretary of Defense may operate a Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (in this section referred to as the “Center”).
(b)Missions.—
(1)The Center shall be used to provide and facilitate education, training, and research in civil-military operations, particularly operations that require international disaster management and humanitarian assistance and operations that require coordination between the Department of Defense and other agencies.
(2)The Center shall be used to make available high-quality disaster management and humanitarian assistance in response to disasters.
(3)The Center shall be used to provide and facilitate education, training, interagency coordination, and research on the following additional matters:
(A)Management of the consequences of nuclear, biological, and chemical events.
(B)Management of the consequences of terrorism.
(C)Appropriate roles for the reserve components in the management of such consequences and in disaster management and humanitarian assistance in response to natural disasters.
(D)Meeting requirements for information in connection with regional and global disasters, including the use of advanced communications technology as a virtual library.
(E)Tropical medicine, particularly in relation to the medical readiness requirements of the Department of Defense.
(4)The Center shall develop a repository of disaster risk indicators for the Asia-Pacific region.
(5)The Center shall perform such other missions as the Secretary of Defense may specify.
(c)Joint Operation With Educational Institution Authorized.—
The Secretary of Defense may enter into an agreement with appropriate officials of an institution of higher education to provide for joint operation of the Center. Any such agreement shall provide for the institution to furnish necessary administrative services for the Center, including administration and allocation of funds.
(d)Acceptance of Donations.—
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense may accept, on behalf of the Center, donations to be used to defray the costs of the Center or to enhance the operation of the Center. Such donations may be accepted from any agency of the Federal Government, any State or local government, any foreign government, any foundation or other charitable organization (including any that is organized or operates under the laws of a foreign country), or any other private source in the United States or a foreign country.
(2)The Secretary may not accept a donation under paragraph (1) if the acceptance of the donation would compromise or appear to compromise—
(A)the ability of the Department of Defense, any employee of the Department, or members of the armed forces, to carry out any responsibility or duty of the Department in a fair and objective manner; or
(B)the integrity of any program of the Department of Defense or of any person involved in such a program.
(3)The Secretary shall prescribe written guidance setting forth the criteria to be used in determining whether or not the acceptance of a foreign donation would have a result described in paragraph (2).
(4)Funds accepted by the Secretary under paragraph (1) as a donation on behalf of the Center shall be credited to appropriations available to the Department of Defense for the Center. Funds so credited shall be merged with the appropriations to which credited and shall be available for the Center for the same purposes and the same period as the appropriations with which merged.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Payments for Education and Training of Personnel of Foreign Countries Pub. L. 107–248, title VIII, § 8093, Oct. 23, 2002, 116 Stat. 1558, provided that: “During the current fiscal year and hereafter, under

Regulations

prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the Center of Excellence for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance [probably should be Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance] may also pay, or authorize payment for, the expenses of providing or facilitating education and training for appropriate military and civilian personnel of foreign countries in disaster management, peace operations, and humanitarian assistance.” Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriation acts: Pub. L. 107–117, div. A, title VIII, § 8109, Jan. 10, 2002, 115 Stat. 2272. Pub. L. 106–259, title VIII, § 8109, Aug. 9, 2000, 114 Stat. 698. Pub. L. 106–79, title VIII, § 8139, Oct. 25, 1999, 113 Stat. 1269.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 182

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110