Insurrection Act (US Code, Title 10, Sections 331-335)

US Code (Cornell Legal Information Institute) ^ | US Code (United States Congress)

[TheFrog]

Article IV, Section 5 of the Louisiana Constitution (Governor; Powers and Duties):

(J) Commander-in-Chief. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the state, except when they are called into service of the federal government. He may call out these forces to preserve law and order, to suppress insurrection, to repel invasion, or in other times of emergency.

From 32 CFR 185:

In accordance with the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, as amended, the national civil defense policy is to have a civil defense program to develop capabilities common to all catastrophic emergencies and those unique to attack emergencies, which will support all-hazard emergency management at State and local levels, in order to protect the population and vital infrastructure. Under the national civil defense policy, the Department of Defense will support civil authorities in civil defense, to include facilitating the use of the National Guard in each State for response in both peacetime disasters and national security emergencies.

Army and Air National Guard forces, acting under State orders (i.e., not in Federal service), have primary responsibility for providing military assistance to State and local government agencies in civil emergencies.

Last but not least: Why does Louisiana not allow the Guard to be used in Law Enforcement?

[Katya]

The other problem, is that rape and murder are everyday occurences in NO....it is unfortunately a city more dangerous than NYC.
True some FEMA people reported being shot at...was this one incident? Two incidents?
There was one verifiable child molestation...and rapes were reported....again as horrific as it was, I don't think one could argue total civil collapse. We were told that hundreds or thousands in the convention center were going to die. That didn't happen. A few did die.
Before the storm, a few in the media complained that people were being searched before they went into the superdome, as if they themselves were being perceived as criminals in stead of shelter seekers. Look, hindsight is always clearer...but I don't think the argument for federal takeover is that clear even now.

[Peach]

There was one verifiable child molestation...and rapes were reported....again as horrific as it was, I don't think one could argue total civil collapse.

You don't think the pictures and reports we heard, firsthand on police scanners and on the Live hurricane thread showed a breakdown in civil society? OMG

[SoldierDiplomat]

I was a member of one of the 2 Federal brigades that were deployed to NOLA to provide Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR). At the time of the deployment, NOLA police were present but minimally manned. Federal troops were deployed because the National Guard of the State of Louisiana had been federalized and deployed to the Middle East. We worked in concert with other local, state and federal agencies to reestablish law and order, restore civil governance, maintain key and critical infrastructure,and provide HA/DR. My opinion in the discussion is that the Insurrection Act is not wholly applicable for the use of Federal troops. The troops were not empowered to execute law enforcement activities. We safeguarded civil authorities in the execution of their law enforcement duties. Had the Louisiana National Guard been available, they could have been granted law enforcement powers under their State Militia authorities. Our foremost priority was the preservation of life and the mitigation of suffering. We served in lieu of the national guard because as the statutes specify, the state lacked the capacity and capability to provide this aspect of civil governance, therefore the use of Federal troops is authorized. What is missed in the discussion is a military commander’s responsibility to safeguard a civil populace when civil authorities are unable to or lack the time and other resources to respond in a timely manner.

[txhurl]

Welcome to FR.. and thanks for the time-warp shock...

[SoldierDiplomat]

I'm new to the forum and thanks for the welcome. I'm closing in on 25 years of service in the military with most of it working in Civil Affairs. As a former Cavalry officer it's a challenge.

[txhurl]

Did you hear much about the reports of prisoners being released during Katrina and what eventually became of them?

Thank you, and again, Welcome!

[SoldierDiplomat]

We didn't run into any instances of released prisoners. The hardcore ones were transferred to other facilities. Ones that weren't a danger to society may have been released. NOLA was pretty empty when we arrived. The real heroes were the clergy and senior citizens that stayed and helped without being asked. No one was ever turned away from their doors or churches. They were and are spectacular examples of triumphs of good, well meaning people over adversity. There were more issues with criminal elements that stayed in and around the city. We had reports of continued drug and criminal activity so MPs and snipers were used to gather intelligence and overwatch police and FEDs as the cops arrested them. There weren't any incidents that required the snipers to shoot, but they were ready. Considering they had tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, they had no mercy for the “Bad Guys”.