Hurricane Response
By Callimachus | Related entries in Blogging, Hurricane Katrina, MilitaryMustang ‘09, a veteran National Guard soldier from Minnesota now serving in Iraq, has something to point out to those who say the military response to the Gulf Coast hurricane was too slow.
There seems to be a perception that the National Guard is available at a moment’s notice, capable of just rising out of the ground where they are needed, instantly capable of providing food, shelter and medical care. Reality is that it’s going to take 2-3 days from the time the Governor decides they need large numbers of Guard troops until any are available. Think about it. What needs to happen? What are the troops needed for, what’s expected of them, what expectation is there of the need for force, how long are they needed, what facilities exist to support them logistically, who is in charge … these are just a few of the questions that need to be answered before the first phone call is made.
Then units start to get called up. 24 hours minimum to get 75% of your soldiers to the Armory. The other 25% are out of town, or they moved, or gave us a bad phone number, or any one of many other excuses. Then you start getting trucks loaded, weapons issued, ammunition drawn, food and tentage loaded, life support for the troops coordinated, turning the probably very general deployment order into an executable Operations order, and finally start moving. That’s another day, minimum. You’re looking at 72 hours from the time the Governor says “we need the Guard� until you can put any troops on the ground. Logistics convoys that can actually deliver relief supplies will take another 24 hours to load, minimum. If everything goes right, and the relief supplies needed are actually on hand in the quantities needed. So 4 days to get relief supplies delivered.
If I recall correctly, the Governor of Louisiana asked for troops on Tuesday. Troops began showing up on Wednesday, were providing security on Thursday, and food showed up on Friday. That is actually a phenomenal response time. Now those troops need to be supported logistically, meaning tens of thousands of meals daily, thousand of gallons of water, medical support just to keep the troops healthy not to mention the victims, billeting, toilets, and trash removal. Add to that fuel and maintenance requirements. Not an insignificant task.
I just ask people, before you get too critical of the response, to consider the scope, the numbers, and the reality of how long stuff really takes to get done. It may not seem fast enough, but it is as fast as it can be.
If there’s one lesson that ought to stick in everyone’s head after this disaster, it’s that if something like this happens to you, help eventually will get there. But for the first few days — maybe a week — you’ll be on your own. Are you ready?
This entry was posted on Monday, September 12th, 2005 and is filed under Blogging, Hurricane Katrina, Military. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 12th, 2005 at 5:06 pm
I’m not currently ready, but since this disaster I’ve decided to create a an emergency kit. It’s been a real eye opener.
September 12th, 2005 at 5:58 pm
Everything this guy says is true and something he didn’t mention was that in many cases these Guardsmen may have had their own problems with thier own homes and families to worry about.\
His observation that people seem to expect the national Guard to just rise out of the ground is absolutely true. One ugly aspect of a some comment is the notion that government is supposed to start executing at the snap of a finger. It shows the same people who may in one breath deplore our consumerist mindset acting like customers of government rather than like citizens. People in the National Guard or on police forces are fellow citizens, not waiters dashing around and grovelling for a tip.
September 12th, 2005 at 6:34 pm
Hitler would have had troops on the ground, order in the streets, wham, bam. When Germans crawled out from their air raid shelters in tyhe war, often they were met by government service agencies that had set up tables and were dispensing hot coffee and pastries.
But there’s a price to pay for that kind of ruthless government efficiency.
September 12th, 2005 at 8:57 pm
I have heard much criticism of mayor Nagin not getting the poor out of NO on city and school buses but I have heard no suggestions about how to do it other than ordering the buses to evacuate the poor.
Has anybody really thought through how virtually impossible that would have been.
1. You have to commandeer all the buses about 550 if I remember and get at least 550 drivers to come., Do you really think many of these drivers are going to abandone their families and their own evacuation to drive their buses to the poorest and most dangerous neighbourhoods in NO?
2. The buses must have fuel for several hundred miles. The buses must also be accompanied by cops to control the loading and search for weapons and drugs. I also thing some security would have to be provided on these buses. Where does that come from?
3. The people must be contacted and told where to go and what to do. They must agree to board the buses and leave knowing full well that whatever meager possessions they leave behind will be looted. They will have to leave trusting the corrupt city govenment to take care of them. Fat chance!
4. Then there must be places several hundred miles away where they can stay. All hotel rooms will be booked and no relief centers will yet be operational.
5. All this has to happen in a timely fashion while the rest of the city is getting out.
Even if there had been a comprehensive plan that had been practiced and studied by all does anyone really think it would have worked?
April 13th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
bad breath kit
The gum disease industry is worth millions of dollars, with a huge