Navy Pilots Who Rescued Victims Are Reprimanded

NY Times ^ | 9/6

[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.

[river rat]

Roger your "irresponsible" comment...

A few old former Marine brothers, wouldn't be alive today -- if a chopper pilot refused to drop into a tight and hot LZ to pick up our badly injured Marines....Without any formal "briefing or intel"...

We called out.. two choppers answered...
One dropped into our smoke for the extraction, and one stayed above to cover and suppress..

Our AO wasn't even on his "flight schedule" that day!
Oh the horror!

Semper Fi

[Seaplaner]

The New York Times is our military's most willing critic.

I suspect very strongly that the old grey lady* has left out something or overemphasized something in order to give this an anti-Navy tilt.

*(of the evening)

.

[righttackle44]

"May you and your boy be safe--thanks"

God bless you. But just to set the record straight: I have not served. My tagline honors my son and my Cousin.

Brings tears to my eyes to see thoughts such as yours.

[George W. Bush]

Interesting news. Per CNN, Rumsfeld got involved in this.

Now, it seems there was never even a reprimand. Maybe not even a 'chiding'.

Heh-heh.

[Little_shoe]

Yeah well from what i heard there grounded and sitting at the BOQ for the time being. Speaking of CDR Houlder I saw his bird this morning....what was his call sign... krusty....

[George W. Bush]

CNN made it very clear they were not grounded and were still flying. They showed headlines from various big newspapees on this story and repudiated all of it.

[xone]

'Well, if these guys don't know how to use their communications
they wouldn't know.'

‘No wonder they fall out of the sky all the time.
Going into places without any briefings or Intel at all.’

Echo Talon

I know that lack of intel and briefings always caused the mech probs that caused me to 'fall out of the sky' Damn the 2 shop! Irresponsible is being charitable. You know all landings are done under the hood. Perfect knowledge is always available, only the irresponsible fail to get briefed on that knowledge.

[MadManDan]

Cool, your thoughts are clearer to me now. :)

[ReignOfError]

I think an appropriate punishment would be a six-hour grounding, confined to the officers' club for the duration, during which time they are strictly prohibited from paying for their own drinks.

But maybe that's just me.

[George W. Bush]

I think there are many fine pilots who should be commended.

I would guess there's a delightful inside story to all this. I imagine their commander had a few ruffled feathers but just chewed them out a little. It got in the press and Rummy jumped on it to prevent a MSM feeding frenzy. All of a sudden, it turns out there's no story. All the pilots chuckle and go back to work.

[RHOD]

A buddy of mine knows the pilots from this article. The best part about it is that the NY Times never even talked to them.