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Lt. Gen. Russel Honore at a command post set up in New Orleans to help the region recover. (Photo by Alex Brandon)  Reluctant Hero of Katrina Recovery Aims to Keep Focus on Mission BY JEFF DUNCAN NEW ORLEANS -- As he strides through the rubble that once was this city's downtown, the sturdy caramel-skinned man with the aviator sunglasses and the black beret brandishing three shiny silver stars is the focus of all eyes. Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, the commanding general of Joint Task Force Katrina, is on the scene -- and everybody knows it. Police officers, relief workers...

This morning I was listening to the Laura Ingraham Show and heard her play clips of Lieutenant General Honore addressing reporters about New Orleans evacuation plan for Hurricane Rita. I agree with her assessment that this is the type of no-nonsense, take control person who should be handling press conferences regarding the war in Iraq. Here is an excerpt: "You're asking last storm questions for people who are concerned about the future storm. Don't get stuck on stupid, reporters. We are moving forward. And don't confuse the people please. You are part of the public message. So help us get...

Impromptu press briefing

I thought it would be a neat idea to dedicate a thread to quotes from General Honore. This guy is so cool he just cracks me up big time and I think he deserves to have a thread dedicated to his 'tell it like it is' verbiage. Please add to the list! I'll start with today's "Honore" quote.......... Don't get stuck on stupid!

Honore: And Mr. Mayor, let's go back, because I can see right now, we're setting this up as he said, he said, we said. All right? We are not going to go, by order of the mayor and the governor, and open the convention center for people to come in. There are buses there. Is that clear to you? Buses parked. There are 4,000 troops there. People come, they get on a bus, they get on a truck, they move on. Is that clear? Is that clear to the public? Female reporter: Where do they move on... Honore: That's not...

WASHINGTON The commander of active duty troops involved in hurricane relief efforts said Sunday his soldiers will not enforce New Orleans' order for residents to evacuate the flooded city. Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore said military units are continuing to provide food and water and other aid despite the order, which he indicated is the responsibility of state and local authorities to enforce. "Federal troops will not be involved in the direct evacuation in any way, of any one, from their home. That is a local and state law enforcement task not to include federal troops," Honore told CNN's...

NEW ORLEANS -- To troops, he's the "Ragin' Cajun," an affable but demanding general barking orders to resuscitate a drowning city. To his country, he's an icon of leadership in a land hungry for a leader after a hurricane exposed the nation's vulnerability to disasters. With a can-do attitude and a cigar in hand, Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore arrived after Hurricane Katrina and directed troops to point weapons down in respect for a stunned and stranded population lacking food, electricity and safety. Each morning, Honore (pronounced AHN'-ur-ay) boards a Blackhawk helicopter at Camp Shelby in Mississippi, 100 miles north...

I must say, that if there is a hero in all this mess, it is the 1st Army Commander----cigar chomping and cussing----LTG Honore' His press conference this week was a lesson learned of how officials (who have a spine) should deal with the media.

THE US military is to bar journalists and photographers from documenting the recovery of bodies left on the streets of New Orleans by hurricane Katrina. Lieutenant-General Russel Honore, the commander of the relief operation, said on Friday that while the military had allowed reporters covering the catastrophe free rein, it was now slamming the door shut out of respect for the possibly thousands of victims and their families. "We've had total access to everything we've done — the good, the bad and the ugly — but that operation (the recovery of corpses) will be conducted with dignity and respect for...

IN COMMAND: Lt. Gen. Russel Honore has emerged as the strongest leader in the Gulf Coast's massive relief effort following hurricane Katrina. A native son takes charge in Gulf Coast Bluff general invigorates hurricane relief effort. CAMP SHELBY, MISS. – He's known for his searing one-liners; a relentless schedule that allows only two hours of sleep a night; and a growly, commanding presence. He's also in charge of the military's response to hurricane Katrina. If that superstorm now rivals the 9/11 terror attacks on the scale of national disasters, then First Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré has emerged as the...

After a week of lawlessness in the city, National Guard and police arrive in force, outnumbering remaining residents 10 to 1. NEW ORLEANS - It wasn't exactly the cavalry that finally arrived. But for stranded French Quarter resident Joe Campiere, it was close enough. After seven lawless days and nights following hurricane Katrina's punch to the nation's Gulf Coast, a time when exclusive Rue Dauphin in the French Quarter turned into an outlaw camp, Mr. Campiere called 911 - and finally got through. Soon after, three Texas lawmen rode down Rue Dauphin on horseback to inspect a reported break-in, a...

Hundreds of would-be rescuers are wending their way to the Gulf Coast in buses, vans and trailers. But critics say government red tape has hampered many who are trying to help Hurricane Katrina's victims. Long lines of volunteers are reportedly being stopped on freeways on their way into New Orleans. "The military was worried about having more people in the city. They want to limit it to the professionals," said Kevin Southerland, a California firefighter whose rescue team was sent to New Orleans at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Aaron Broussard, president of Louisiana's Jefferson Parish,...

Lieutenant General Russel Honore lived up to his 'John Wayne dude' nickname, blasting complaints that red tape or poor security were snarling relief efforts as "B.S." The fiery general, in charge of the military component of the mission, lost his rag during a press conference after President George W. Bush's visit to rescue coordinators here. "That's B.S. It's B.S.," Honore raged. "I can tell you that is B.S. We have got 300 helicopters and some of the finest EMS workers in the world down there. "There is no red tape ... there are isolated incidents that people take to paint...

"That's B.S. It's B.S.," Honore raged. See the links to the story and the video of the press conference.

If you missed it earlier they have the entire thing posted on the front page

Lt. Gen. Russel Honore says his task force is going to focus on recovery and relief efforts and getting the job done. "We have approximately 30,000 National Guard troops on the ground with more on the way and approximately 10,000 active component troops."

(CNN) -- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin calls Lt. Gen. Russel Honore a "John Wayne dude" who can "get some stuff done." "He came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving," Nagin said in an interview Thursday night with a local radio station. (See the Nagin video where he demands feds 'get off their asses' -- 12:09 ) The three-star general directed the deployment of an estimated 1,000 National Guard troops from a New Orleans street corner Friday, making it clear that it was a humanitarian relief operation. (Watch the convoy slog through floodwaters --...

The man in charge of coordinating the military’s hurricane response is a Louisiana native with previous experience in flood disasters who already has received high marks from one state official for his efforts. Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, the man in charge of U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Task Force Katrina, is a former 2nd Infantry Division commander. Honoré, from Lakeland, La., led 2nd ID in South Korea from October 2000 until July 2002. During that time he dealt with monsoon-season flooding on many Area I installations and oversaw flood prevention measures put in place following a disastrous 1998 flood that...

ATLANTA - When the cavalry finally arrived in New Orleans to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, a cigar-chomping three-star general led the way. That was Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, commander of the 1st Army, based at Fort Gillem in Atlanta. Normally he oversees training for all deploying troops on the East Coast. For the time being, the Louisiana native is the man in charge on the front line in New Orleans. He is also coordinating military relief efforts for all storm-ravaged areas along the Gulf Coast. Honore is winning over even some of the government's harshest critics, including New...