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Should I say this? Can I say this? Do I really want to say this... You can present the best disaster plan every concocted, but if the powers that be don't implement it, it won't save one life.

I agree, but I've looked at "the plan" and its quite inadequate. But hey don't believe me, just read what those asked to implement it thought: Law Officers, Overwhelmed, Are Quitting the Force, NY Times (FR post here)

A Baton Rouge police officer said he had a friend on the New Orleans force who told him he threw his badge out a car window in disgust just after fleeing the city into neighboring Jefferson Parish as the hurricane approached. The Baton Rouge officer would not give his name, citing a department policy banning comments to the news media.

The officer said he had also heard of an incident in which two men in a New Orleans police cruiser were stopped in Baton Rouge on suspicion of driving a stolen squad car. The men were, in fact, New Orleans officers who had ditched their uniforms and were trying to reach a town in north Louisiana, the officer said.

"They were doing everything to get out of New Orleans," he said. "They didn't have the resources to do the job, or a plan, so they left."

I wrote this on an earlier thread, but it bears repeating and I although I was wrong about the "brother-in-law," James Lee Witt more than proofs the point:

To anyone with a "Been There, Done That" t-shirt, the plan (even at a high level) is not executable on its face. You don't "scout for undamaged or lightly damaged facilities" after the fact, because if you are planning for a major disaster you have to assume there won't be much operable or else it wouldn't be a major disaster.

You need to preplan your recovery and relief centers outside the radius of the disaster.

I am guessing that the government of New Orleans shoveled bushels of money at someone's brother-in-law posing as a consultant to get this piece of dreck.

Every USMC officer and senior noncom I have ever been privileged to serve with would have the following in big, bold, letters on the front page of a real disaster relief plan:

"Assumptions:

1. The environment will be uncertain at best, and may be hostile.

2. Triple all "official" estimates of evacuees and casualties.

3. All basic services will have failed. Otherwise, this wouldn't be a disaster. The operation must be completely self sustaining, and capable of sustaining the number of people determined in bullet number two.

4. Medical services to be provided will include care for cardiac and obstetric emergencies.

5. The official policy may be "No Pets," but the evacuees are going to try and bring them anyway. Pray that someone doesn't own a horse.

6. We will evacuate the dead. No American gets left behind.
7. Plan on establishing a Forward Command Element onsite, as soon as possible.

8. Three courses of action, minimum: One Surface, One Air, One combined Surface and Air.

9. Airlift is the limiting function. 95% of what you need will have to be moved by surface. The other 5% that goes by air had better be limited to the stuff and personnel you absolutely have to have right now.

10. Provide for the ability to dig big and really deep holes for latrines. MREs produce strange results from the human digestive system.

11. Although you have to work with them, at best local authorities won't get in your way. At worst, declarations of hostilities may be needed."

There's more, but someone with more recent experience in rapid response planning for a Marine Expeditionary Unit will have to list them.