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Patton's swearing was legendary, and not in dispute. There were, however, two Pattons--the Patton for public consumption that your four year old could listen to and the Patton the troops listened to. That sense of decorum seemed to go out about the same time we started losing battles. If you're not fighting on God's side, you're losing.

It appears to me that Honore is a political hack who actually performs for the cameras in a way that doesn't inspire anybody. If he had entered the city with rhetoric that went like this, "if you are a rapist or a looter or a murderer, you better beware, because my boys are going to shoot you down like a cornered hog," then I might approve of his grandstanding, but running around telling troops to sling weapons in a city of random snipers is just the actions of a bureaucratic boob. I'm truly sorry I can't confess more confidence in him.

but running around telling troops to sling weapons in a city of random snipers

One thing I have noticed with NOLA police and NG troops - even before Honore arrived - is that peace officers don't seem to have too many protective helmets. I've seen numerous pictures of them in flak vests but no helmets at all. Some had the baseball-type hats - with and without NOLA PD insignias - but not hard helmets in so many of the pictures.

With snipers running around, I cringe every time I see one of those pictures. Maybe it is too hard to see or it is too hot to wear heavy helmet but I really feel for those guys - multiple tasks to accomplish in a dangerous zone and no helmets.

Any idea why no protective headgear in some of the pictures?