Some facts about how the U-S military is responding to Hurricane Katrina.

Associated Press katc3 ^ | September 3, 2005 | The U-S Army

[mdittmar]

WHAT'S NEW

-- More National Guard and active-duty troops are being sent to the hurricane region.

THE NUMBERS

-- Ten-thousand more National Guard troops are going to Louisiana and Mississippi.

-- That brings the total to about 40-thousand.

-- The chief of the National Guard said Saturday they would be arriving in the coming days.

-- President Bush Saturday ordered 72-hundred more active duty forces to the region within 72 hours.

-- That's in addition to 4,000 already there.

-- About 2,500 of the new troops are from the 82nd Airborne Division.

-- About 2,700 are from First Cavalry Division.

-- One-thousand are from First Marine Expeditionary Force.

-- One-thousand are from Second Marine Expeditionary Force.

WHAT ARE THEY ASSISTING WITH

-- Security and traffic control, including guarding critical facilities, preventing looting and apprehending curfew violators.

-- Distributing food, water and ice.

-- Conducting searches and rescues.

-- Providing generator support.

-- Carrying out other missions to support life and property.

(Active-duty soldiers will provide variety of security and humanitarian assistance, but not be involved in law enforcement.)

CORPS OF ENGINEERS

-- The Army Corps of Engineers is battling to repair breaches in the 350 miles of hurricane protection levees surrounding New Orleans.

OTHER EFFORTS

-- Idaho Air National Guard will deliver handheld radios donated by the National Firefighting Service to help ease communication problems throughout the region due to downed cellular nets.

-- All units arrive in the region self-sufficient and ready to operate with no need for food, water, medical or fuel support.

-- Every National Guard except those in Hawaii and Guam either is supporting the relief effort or is prepared to respond if needed.

-- The Department of Defense has 1.5 million cases of field rations available if needed.

DEPLOYED SOLDIERS

-- The Army has a toll-free number for families of deployed soldiers to get a message to the military members. (1-888-777-7731)

(Sources: The U-S Army)

On the Web: http://www.army.mil

[Shermy]

I don't think any disaster plan contemplated 2/3 of the New Orleans police would be debilitated or quit - something known, but little discussed since pointing it out doesn't help partisan argumentation.

Governor should have acted when order broke down. How come she didn't send in State troopers to back up the New Orleans police?

Anyway, I keep seeing stories that it took "6 days" to respond. But the major flooding was only a actual concern on Tuesday, no?

[Last Dakotan]

That brings the total to about 40-thousand.

Kind of ends the "they are all in Iraq" argument.

[syriacus]

Anyway, I keep seeing stories that it took "6 days" to respond. But the major flooding was only a actual concern on Tuesday, no?

Good point.

[kenth]

Someone mentioned to me that Canadians (Canadian military) were coming to help. My reaction is, "WTH? That can't be right." That's not right, right?

[Revelation 911]

not to arm chair QB, but since Hurricane season is just in full swing - why not order a full and complete evac, and not even address the levees until after the potential for repeat / continued damage is passed ?

whos to say there wont be a cat 5 next week?

[syriacus]

Bookmarked, Thanks.

[RippleFire]

bump

[cwb]

Exactly! In fact, part of the problem was that after the hurricane passed on Monday, people let their guards down claiming victory over another near-miss. These pols had this valuable almost 24 hour window to still get some work done, such as evacuating people.

I watched Shep Smith from his HQ at the French Quarter and people were celebrating in the bars. In fact, one report I saw said that some of the bars not only reopened, but never closed.

To add to this madness was a Mayor and Attorney General who practically justified the looting, as I'm sure word spread that people could just take what they wanted. Instead of leaving like they should, larceny was running wild.

[silverleaf]

Correct. The storm hit on Monday AM (only 15 miles off the NOAA track posted on Friday night)

The levees breached late PM on Monday, flooding became serious on Tuesday. On early Tuesday people were still partying in the French Quarter.

Pres Bush federalized the National Guard either late Tuesday or early Wednesday (after ineffectual command and control by the Governor and Mayor Nagin worsened the security situation and precluded effective releif operations).

The task of setting up an emergency evacuation center for 30,000 people in Houston was tasked to the military on early Wednesday AM. Refugees began arriving in Houston by Wednesday PM. 15,000 had arrived in Houston by Thuesday, 25,000 plus by Friday.

An 80-mile long relief convoy under National Guard control rolled into New Orleans on Friday morning, at first light and set about restoring security to New Orleans.

A military-commanded air bridge evacuated est 30,000 people from the Convention Center to New Orleans airport for further evacuation during Saturday daylight hours.

Someone correct this timeline if it is wrong.

[cwb]

I should note that during this 24 hour window, the governor could have called the national Guard into the city to establish order. But for political reasons, she didn't want to be responsible for any of the LE officials under her command killing these "poor, black people who were only trying to survive." These people failed to establish any level of control (for political reasons) and that is why we saw the chaos that we did.

[Mike Darancette]

The real problem is going to come when they begin to evacuate some of the poorest neighborhoods. This probably where the druggies have gone to ground.

[Eagles6]

You have hit the nail on the head. The governor and the mayor didn't want to take responsibility for giving a shoot to kill order and having black criminals being killed. They let their constituents die to preserve their political careers.

[hsalaw]

There was a post here earlier last week that Canada is sending about 1300 Heavy Urban Search & Rescue people, which may or may not be members of its military, to aid in clearing when the last of the refugees is evacuated from New Orleans. (I don't know why it's called "Heavy" Urban Search & Rescue.)

[cwb]

"Pres Bush federalized the National Guard either late Tuesday or early Wednesday..."

---

Silverleaf, have you seen anything in the press that indicates this happened? The reason I ask is that according to Chertoff today, none of this operation has become "federalized" as per his description. He noted that while the federal government usually only plays a supporting role, that they were working shoulder to shoulder rather than as strict subordinates.

The impression I got, however, was that Louisiana is still calling the shots on this with Washington providing them with whatever they want. Can anyone confirm that the Guard was put under the Presidents control? It may just be a semantical difference, but I'd like to know for sure for my own reference. Thanks

[Howlin]

FYI.

[SoCalPol]

Canadian military) were coming to help. My reaction is, "WTH?


Canada is sending 3 ships with supplies, police from B.C.
and maybe more I haven't heard.

[silverleaf]

I do not believe that active-duty forces could be providing support to a domestic operation, nor could the Guard be assisting with peace-keeping operations requiring potential use of deadly force against US civilians, nor could Gen Honore be in obvious overall command of New Orleans, nor could other military commanders be in charge of places like the Houston astrodome, unless they were federalized to comply with "posse comitatus" and the Militia clause of the USC.

Federalization was alluded to by CoL David Hunt last night on Bill O'Reilly show. I hope we discover the timing of this decision.

Bush 41 federalized NG to cope with Hurricane Andrew and it was such a new concept they really didn't have much idea how to proceed. Now, many Guard have been federalized for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan (Honore is actually the General in charge of training reserve/Guard for overseas combat duty) so I guess it is somewhat normal now to do so...but federalization is usually HEAVILY resisted (by the Guard itself and the State Governors, who prefer to exercise their own Constitutional roles and responsibilities for domestic operations. Plus federalization does compplicate law enforcement lines of command and that's the last thing you need in a crisis)

Our Constitution clearly favors the concept that States use their own "militia" under their own command and control for their own disasters. I believe that Bush held off doing so to give the Governor every chance to be a "Man" and be a leader. She did not.

I just wonder what legal justification Pres Bush used for federalizing..."insurrection against the State"??? And whether he used Title 32 authority?

Whatever is going on, it was creative and very quickly arranged considering the circumstances and conditions. The media doesn't understand this.

The Feds effectively swept the weeping ineffectual State Gov and New Orleans jello-legged Mayor out of the way and went in to get the job done because people wer in danger of dying.

Bush coming in and saying "This is not acceptable" is harsh for a guy whose management style is to reprimand in private. Kind of reminds me of that scene in "Patton" where a donkey was holding up traffic on a bridge. So Patton pulled out his pistol, shot the donkey, and told his troops to dump it over the side of the bridge and get the convoy moving....Pres Bush got the convoys moving.

[dfwgator]

I think Bush's conversation with Nagin went something like this, "You've been messin' with the bull, you try another stunt like that little press conference, you're gettin' the horns."

[beaver fever]

HEAVY URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE (USAR)

http://www.psepc.gc.ca/publications/backgrounders/2005/20050330-1_e.asp

Heavy USAR is the location of trapped persons in collapsed structures and other entrapments using canine teams and electronic search equipment; the work to breach, shore, lift and remove structural components; the use of heavy construction equipment to remove debris and the medical treatment and transfer of victims. USAR is a general term for the technical continuum of search and rescue capabilities.