Posted on 09/06/2005 5:35:09 AM PDT by pittsburgh gop guy
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
As one who has received training by FEMA in emergency management and also training by the Department of Defense in consequence management, I believe that the federal response in New Orleans needs clarification.
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| Craig Martelle, retired as a major in the U.S. Marine Corps, lives in North Huntingdon. He recently launched the Strategic Outlook Institute, a public-policy organization. | |||
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The key to emergency management starts at the local level and expands to the state level. Emergency planning generally does not include any federal guarantees, as there can only be limited ones from the federal level for any local plan. FEMA provides free training, education, assistance and respond in case of an emergency, but the local and state officials run their own emergency management program.
Prior development of an emergency plan, addressing all foreseeable contingencies, is the absolute requirement of the local government --and then they share that plan with the state emergency managers to ensure that the state authorities can provide necessary assets not available at the local level. Additionally, good planning will include applicable elements of the federal government (those located in the local area). These processes are well established, but are contingent upon the personal drive of both hired and elected officials at the local level.
I've reviewed the New Orleans emergency management plan. Here is an important section in the first paragraph.
"We coordinate all city departments and allied state and federal agencies which respond to citywide disasters and emergencies through the development and constant updating of an integrated multi-hazard plan. All requests for federal disaster assistance and federal funding subsequent to disaster declarations are also made through this office. Our authority is defined by the Louisiana Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act of 1993, Chapter 6 Section 709, Paragraph B, 'Each parish shall maintain a Disaster Agency which, except as otherwise provided under this act, has jurisdiction over and serves the entire parish.' "
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Phil Coale, Associated Press Flooded school buses in a lot, New Orleans, Sept. 1. Click photo for larger image.
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Check the plan -- the "we" in this case is the office of the mayor, Ray Nagin who was very quick and vocal about blaming everyone but his own office. A telling picture, at left, taken by The Associated Press on Sept. 1 and widely circulated on the Internet shows a school bus park, apparently filled to capacity with buses, under about four feet of water. If a mandatory evacuation was ordered, why weren't all the taxpayer-purchased buses used in the effort?
Who could have predicted the anarchy resulting as a consequence? The individuals who devolved into lawless animals embarrass the entirety of America. (I worked in a U.S. Embassy overseas for a couple years and I can imagine what foreign diplomats are thinking.) What societal factors would ever lead people to believe that this behavior was even remotely acceptable?
The folks in New Orleans who are perpetrating the violence and lawlessness are not that way because of low income or of race, but because they personally do not have any honor or commitment to higher ideals. The civil-rights leaders should be ashamed at playing the blame game.
The blame is on the individuals. The blame is on the society that allowed these individuals to develop the ideal that the individual is greater than the national pride he is destroying. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was very clear in her comments that she was offended at those who suggested the suffering in New Orleans was prolonged because of race.
As a retired Marine, I hang my head in shame to see my fellow Americans degenerate so far. I spent so many years in the Corps helping the citizens of other countries rise to a higher level of personal responsibility to ensure that in case of emergency, anarchy did not necessarily follow. When people are held to a higher standard of personal responsibility and they accept that, then they will do the right thing when the time comes.
It seems that the mayor of New Orleans is leading the effort in not taking responsibility for his actions. The emergency managers for the state of Louisiana do not have much to say either. The failure in the first 48 hours to provide direction for survivors is theirs to live with. When FEMA was able to take over, it started out behind and had to develop its plan on the fly. Now the federal government has established priorities -- rescue the stranded, evacuate the city, flow in resources and fix the levee. It appears that now there is a plan and it is being systematically executed.
Hurricane Katrina was a national tragedy -- not just in the number of lives lost or the amount of physical damage, but also in the failure of people to do what is right when no one is looking.
ROTFLOL!!!!!
Blanco should read Blanko. If her plan was already in place, then it went according to her plan but it was a really bad plan.
off topic for a sec. How's Laura I. doing?
How DARE you challenge the MSM conventional wisdom.
I mean look at the historic precedents. Earthquake in SF, FEMA was there, uh... OK bad example. Eathquake in LA, FEMA was there in, umm, errr.. OK another bad example. Hurricane Andrew, FEMA right on the spot after umm, errrr.. let's try again. Violence, riots and looting in Los Angeles, FEMA and the feds were umm, err, uhhh...
Only in the pea brains of the Hate Bush crowd (which is most of the MSM) is an immediate Federal Response required and possible.
Sure, they have to blame someone instead of their own politicians. Even that young man had more common sense than those politicians.
You don't see any East coast governors standing around waiting to hear from the White House or FEMA to decide what to do to save their state.
And you sure as hell don't catch East Coast governors not returning the president's phone calls for 24 hours.
What's your point? We allow the citizens to suffer and die because of the incompetency of the governor and local authorities?
If you would give us your phone number, we can call you later in the week and you can be in charge of the next storm that's coming. I'm sure you'd do a perfect job.
I am sure I could do a better job than Blanco and Nagin. I ran and/or assisted several evacuations overseas and written evacuation and emergency plans. Your sarcasm is misplaced.
You all need to lighten up.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
That poster just wants to argue. He/she does not get the fact that the local politicians were the ones to get people out of town.
Michael Brown said he didn't know about "the convention center". He's the only person in America who didn't know.
They certainly were not up to the standard of leadership that California Governor Pete Wilson and Los Angeles Mayor, Richard, "The RINO", Riorden exhibited after the Northridge earthquake in the '90's. In all fairness, Katrina was much larger than the earthquake, but Gov. Blanco and the Mayor of New Orleans had plenty of warning, not so for Pete and Dick.
You obviously have not read all of my posts on this thread. I assign most of the blame to Nagin and Blanco. However, I don't hold the Feds blameless for their initial, bleated response to NO.
Our city has disaster plans and they are practiced at times just to make sure people know what to do in one. Why wasn't this done in NO? The politicians were just too dumb to care about their own citizens.
Blanko and Nagin, are they still speaking? They are to blame but the feds compounded the problem. Something this huge is not the time for restraint. The federal government is charged with protecting its citizens. It's in the Constitution. I think there were failures at many levels. Living in a hurricane prone area and while we are at war, I'm getting my own supplies and maybe everyone in hurricane prone areas need to take survival classes. However, I don't live in a bowl.
"...I do know that the Feds could have alleviated the situations at the Convention Center and the Superdome sooner..."
WoW! Maybe you should work for the DOD and let them know how a few blackhawks can be loaded with enough supplies for thousands. The chaos that would have ensued had they not gone in with an overwhelming force, like they did on Friday via a ground convoy, would have been terrible and cost far more lives than the few that may have perished in the interim.
And everyone is getting on FEMA's case over the convention center - and that they didn't know about it. My question is: Who the hell set that shelter up? Was it the American Red Cross - ARC - they usually do the mass care ESF (Emergency Support Function) in most municipal EOPs (Emergency Operations Plans). Was it the municipal government? Someone set it up and then realized the bad situation and got the hell out of there. It was either ARC or the municipal governement (ARC will not set up shelters WITHOUT security present) - or a combo of both. EITHER WAY - whoever opened it got the hell out of there fast - and left people there.
And the one thing that I can guarantee: It was not, repeat, NOT FEMA that set it up as a mass care center.
But it is all Bush's fault - I keep forgetting.
Politicians are masters of the coverup. The problem is that as the water recedes, a coverup is not possible in this instance.
That's the crux of the matter. In this case, I say legalisms and laws be damned. Save lives and alleviate suffering. Just as we praise the 18 year old who broke the law and commandeered a school bus to save himself and others, we need to assist our fellow citizens in the name of morality and humanity.
Gee, I wonder if this moroon will ever send these guys on a MUCH NEEDED rest and relaxation ........
WASHINGTON-- Most of the 2,800 Louisiana National Guard soldiers who are returning home early from their Iraq mission intend to join in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, their commander said Monday.
"The people of Louisiana have been worrying about us these past 12 months; now we are worried about them," said Brig. Gen. John Basilica Jr., commander of the 256th Brigade Combat Team of the Louisiana National Guard.
Rush just read most of this article on the air.
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