Posted on 09/06/2005 8:57:38 PM PDT by Uncle Joe Cannon
PENSACOLA, Fla.,Sept.6-Two Navy helicopter pilots and their crews returned from New Orleans on Aug. 30 expecting to be greeted as lifesavers after ferrying more than 100 hurricane victims to safety.
Instead, their superiors chided the pilots, Lt. David Shand and Lt. Matt Udkow, at a meeting the next morning for rescuing civilians when their assignment that day had been to deliver food and water to military installations along the Gulf Coast.
"I felt it was a great day because we resupplied the people we needed to and we rescued people, too," Lieutenant Udkow said. But the air operations commander at Pensacola Naval Air Station "reminded us that the logistical mission needed to be our area of focus."
The episode illustrates how the rescue effort in the days immediately after Hurricane Katrina had to compete with the military's other, more mundane logistical needs.
Only in recent days, after the federal response to the disaster has come to be seen as inadequate, have large numbers of troops and dozens of helicopters, trucks and other equipment been poured into to the effort. Early on, the military rescue operations were smaller, often depending on the initiative of individuals like Lieutenants Shand and Udkow.
The two lieutenants were each piloting a Navy H-3 helicopter - a type often used in rescue operations as well as transport and other missions - on that Tuesday afternoon, delivering emergency food, water and other supplies to Stennis Space Center, a federal facility near the Mississippi coast. The storm had cut off electricity and water to the center, and the two helicopters were supposed to drop their loads and return to Pensacola, their home base, said Cmdr. Michael Holdener, Pensacola's air operations chief.
"Their orders were to go and deliver water and parts and to come back," Commander Holdener said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Leave it to the NYT to focus on blaming the administration as opposed to the story.
As squids, they follow the same OPNAV that allows for deviation to flight rules etc for emergencies. If I had fragged them, I'd have been pissed that they had done this without calling in and allowing me to adjust the schedule. It's possible there were no missions assigned to rescue efforts and a good helo coord would have shifted these guys on to it and given the log mission to someone else.
Going to the press is a BS move IMO. If the press found out about it, then the PAO should have been the lead forward.
And yes, I would rather get chewed for doing something like this than to see it happen and leave it undone. They're LTs, they can take the crap.
I remember a lot of "stupid" in the military. They have their share same as any other organization.
Cookies...
After reading many of the posts on this thread, it is obvious we have many "lifers" posting.
"Initiative" was stopping and picking up a couple of folks. "Running off and doing your own thing to the detriment of THEIR mission" was making a day of it.
I only take orders from God and my wife.
(not necessarily in that order)...
The mission comes first.
The asshat who reprimanded these hard chargers should be taken out and horsewhipped.
These guys accomplished their original mission and then used some initiative to help people who needed help.
God bless THEM and damn the desk sitting jerk who chided them.
What I wonder is how this ever got public?
And I think you are right, they probably got a slap on the wrist with one hand and a pat on the back with the other.
That's a negative ghostrider, the pattern is full.
It might have been one of those "wink win, nod nod" reprimands.
Typical of the new york slimes to cover a story like this, even if it is true or not.
And other rescuers sent to help those people wasted time, energy, gasoline, etc. It was foolish. When soldiers do not trust their orders, the military instantly becomes useless. Billions in materiel gets commandeered by the closest soldier (some without a high school diploma), and quickly, nothing is available for coherent, organized efforts... kinda like the looting in NOLA.
Bingo...
And how many of those died saving others...I bet the save-es are grateful they CMH'ers did what they did...
In this case...Everybody made it...
The cost..."fuel"...
JimRob, don't know if you've seen this yet.
Also pinging and saying "hey" to Aeronaut. Sending this to my dad for additional BS detection sensoring. ;-)
I don;t think the deviation was a violation of any flight rules here either...
Obviously it burned a little more go go juice... But hell, their fuel state was probably well on the plus side anyway...
But if it made them a little late back to the barn...
opps...Muh bad...
I think the secret here is to find out the source...Who squawked???
We already know its a non-story, and the reason why it was printed...So if we find out that source, it'll be another one of those "Air National Guard" type things...
I was never an "airdale", I was "fleet", so most of this was pretty easy to debunk...
I don't believe anything that appears in the NYTimes.
If the Naval Helicopter had NOT picked up evacuees, I could just see the NYT headline:
"Naval helicopter ignores those needing evacuation from housetops!"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.