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"M. O'BRIEN: But I'm talking about assets, like, you know, amphibious vehicles that the Navy has. It has helicopter support, hospital support, the ability to generate power, that sort of thing. We haven't seen that kind of thing, the kind of thing we saw, incidentally, in the wake of the tsunami."

Classic case of someone who doesn't know what he's talking about. The Navy had a helicopter carrier in the gulf immediately after the storm. 3 amphibious ships, 1 salvage ship, and an oiler (to keep them fueled) pulled out of Norfolk yesterday. Why not earlier? It takes time to load up the supplies necessary for the ship, not to mention supplies to assist the victims. Also, the hospital ship USNS Comfort left port. This ship is not continually manned, but has it's medical staff pulled from Naval hospitals. This took time.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait, the USS John F. Kennedy,which was already preparing to go on deployment, took a week of people working 24 hours a day to get loaded up to leave.

I personally think that the Navy, at least, has performed admirably.

BTW, the ships that responded to the tsunami were operating in the area in the first place. No wonder they responded so quickly. Because of the scaling back of the military, there little Navy in Pensacola FL and Ingleside, TX.

Just like liberals. Cut the military and them blame them when they can't jump through hoops for you.

I personally think that the Navy, at least, has performed admirably.

You're correct. The LCACS (Hovercraft) left here (Panama City) yesterday to help in the recovery. Air Force Combat Control teams are already on site in New Orleans trying to get the airport up and operational. Air Force Pararescue units are assisting the Coast Guard in rescuing stranded people in NO. The Army sent in several hundred helos to assist in the recovery.

All of the service branches have done a hell of a job responding. It's not easy mobilizing that many people and sending them into an area with no infrastructure left. They have to be totally self-sufficient, bringing in their own food, water, security, fuel, spare parts, maintenance capabilities, etc.