do you have any idea exactly how this decision was made? Do the Major Generals take orders from the governor in times of emergency?
It's really hard to tell. Here's a snippet from his
bio:
Major General Bennett C. Landreneau is the Adjutant General for Louisiana. He is responsible for the deployment and coordination of programs, policies and plans affecting the more than 14,000 members of the Louisiana Army and Air National Guard. He is also the Director of the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
So, he has two roles, one with the NG, and one for the State's Homeland Security (OHSEP). The OHSEP is
listed on the Governor's website as a cabinet, which tells me that he reports directly to the Governor. Also, since he's the Adjutant General for LA, he would report directly to the Governor in that capacity, AFAIK.
Once his department was activated (on the 26th, see below), I think he had the authority to keep the Red Cross and SA from supplying evacuees at the Superdome, although I'm at a loss of words to explain why he would do such a thing. It looks like the order would not have had to come from the Governor.
The Governor issued
Proclamation No. 48 KBB 2005 on August 26th. This declared the state of emergency, and activated the state's emergency response and recovery program, under the command of Gen. Landreneau.
By the 30th, the hurricane had hit, and water was starting to rise in the city.
She issued
EO No. KBB 2005-23 on August 31st. This authorized the commissioning of individuals who are not bonded.
September 2nd, well after the city had flooded, that she issued
EO No. KBB 2005-25, which includes this:
SECTION 3: The Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is hereby authorized to commandeer and utilize such buses for such purposes;
I don't know what the OHSEP did with regard to this EO. By this time, all the buses were under water. This EO even suspended the CDL requirement for this purpose. There have been more EOs since then, but from the 26th until the 2nd, there was the one proclamation, and two EOs.