The Viability of Non-classified U.S. Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Technologies in Disaster Public Health Emergency Response, Logistics, Search, and Rescue

Escalating natural and manmade disasters increasingly strain local emergency response systems, exposing gaps in situational awareness, rescue capacity, logistics coordination, and damage assessment. This qualitative narrative inquiry examines how military personnel with advanced education in logistics and humanitarian operations conceptualize the use of non-classified military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technologies in domestic disaster response. Drawing on two phases of data collection, semi-structured narrative interviews and asynchronous reflective journaling, the study analyzes the perspectives of ten U.S. military service members trained in logistics and supply chain management. Findings indicate that military UAVs function as critical capability multipliers by accelerating situational awareness, reducing responder risk, improving logistics visibility, enhancing damage assessment, and supporting interagency coordination across disasters such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, snowstorms, and mudslides. Participants emphasized that military UAV capabilities exceed those typically available to local fire and police departments in endurance, sensor integration, and operational scalability. The study concludes that non-classified military UAV integration, when appropriately governed and coordinated, significantly enhances the effectiveness, resilience, and life-saving capacity of domestic disaster and emergency response systems.