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 ...
how the hell did this tale get to the NYT?---did the pilots 'blow their own horn' or 'shoot their mouths off' to the MSM?--if so, they are wrong and should be disciplined unless these pickups were on way back from their last dropoff--if they went out of position to play hero it is not the way the Navy does business--I wonder if all the Freepers patting them on the back ever served in the military and learned to follow orders when given to them-
sorry for the double post--
Stennis is a NASA engine test facility surrounded by 20 miles of swamp. Picking up folks on the way home from there would fall under the category of initiative.
I should be honest: I'm sick of ALL of them: the officials, the press, the police, even the dang victims.
FGS, people can't go without for THREE DAMN DAYS? It's pathetically insane.
Did you hear on Rush's show where he had pointed out that a while back when Bush's budget allowed somewhere near 2.4 billion dollars to build up the levees near the Mississippi, and the Times slamed it as a boondoggle. And now they blast him for not putting enough in the budget to prevent this kind of disaster. The hypocracy one: They slammed him at first for putting up the money in the first place and then slam him for not being enough. On the second point, all the experts say that it would have taken at least 10 more years to build something credible. Then we find out on his show that in NO, each parrish has a levee commission and mounds of red tape. Can you imagine anything being done?
Three things to take into consideration:
1. The NY Times
2. Follow Orders unless unlawful.
3. Sometimes, the bigger picture is not available to those who are not at the helm.
It seems cold blooded, but without discipline, the military would not be as good as it is. If these men believed they should do this, despite orders, we will know how correct their decision was by the nature of the consequences, so to speak.
I bet their fellow sailors loved that.
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Wrong. Do you know how many helicopters were down here at NAS Pensacola? The base is running 24 hours a day flying over 100 soties with over 60 separate choppers, so many they didnt have ramp space for all of them and were having to park some SH-60s in the aisles. There are plenty of choppers to carry the supplies necessary. I know because IVE been one of the people who was been supervising loading them. Ive figure Ive had atleast 125,000 lbs of supplys over the past weekend Ive been resonsible for tracking and getting the working parties to load. Not bad for only 1 year in the navy.
It was illegal for the armed forces of the United States to be in Louisiana doing anything related any mission other than armed defense of the United States until Governor Blanco requested and permitted such assistance.
That request/permission did not come until Sept 3.
The Helicopter could talk to the E-2Cs controlling the airspace. However the wing headquarters running all of this is dosent have the capablity to talk to any of the aircraft in flight.
----"True, but as cargo haulers they must know that they might be tasked with delivering food, water, or medical supplies on the next mission. The guy on the roof might look like a good deed, but saving countless others on a less glamorous mission is even more important."---
Bingo. How many rescue pilots and support personnel didn't get the food and water and other supplies they needed to do their job effectively. But, glad I'm not the one who had to make that decision. Hooray for our team!
I hope they would and that someone with authority to say yes would be there. Civilian police would be expected to report to HQ about something like this if it would be expected to delay their getting back, but not to get a mother may I about something stupid like, you know, saving a life.
Everything worked out ok, don't know why they ran to the NYT's? Glory Hounds.
ho-kay, but it sure looks like they were getting ready for the call from Babineaux.
Oh come on! Is this for real you think?
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