[WHBates]

"As a West Pointer, I've got to disagree with you about the Corps. I am 100% sure the District Commander has all the studies and reports that shows every weakness in the system and it's faults. I am also sure that was properly submitted to all needed parties.

Thank you for a civil discourse, BTW.

I do understand your point. However, I lived in Vicksburg, MS for 7 years a long time ago. All of by neighbors seemed to work for the Corps. At the facility at Vicksburg they had a mock-up and simulation of the lower Mississippi river including the delta. I believe all of these issues were known years ago. My point was that allocating money to fix known issues is a political issue not a Corp issue. I also know that M&O and minor capital issues can be somewhat at the discretion of local command, but big ticket items such as the issues with the NOLA levee system isn't. They can only do what they can do with the resources allocated.

[Yasotay]

West Point was the first Civil Engineering School in the US. The Corps of Engineers' "Birthplace" is traced to West Point. Typically the best and brightest go into the Corps of Engineers (I was a dumb grunt....) . That is why Congress made the Corps of Engineers, and not the navy, responsible for the nation's waterways.

I understand the majority of the Corps of Engineers is civilian and needs the money from Congress, but there is also a REASON in times of emergency that the Corps is linked to the military....

The mindset of the Corps 9 times out of 10 is correct, but when the 'boss' declares an emergency things change and it looks like it didn't this time .... if the Commander didn't ask for the needed troops (an army engineer battalion) and resources on Saturday night then he is wrong and his head needs to be on the chopping block. If he did ask .... then God help the person who said no...