Vice Admiral Thad Allen Leaving State, Talks About His Experience

WAFB ^ | 12/09/2005 | Cyndi Nguyen

[LA Woman3]

The next time you see Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen in Louisiana, it will be to hand over the reins of his role as principal official for the Katrina response to somebody else. Admiral Allen will leave Louisiana on Saturday and will return at the end of the month to wrap things up. In his last few weeks as the top FEMA operator on Katrina, Allen talked to 9 News about what he believes FEMA has learned from this disaster and where the federal agency is headed next.

Admiral Allen, appearing at his last media appearance in Louisiana Friday, says he's seen the toughest of times, but he's also seen signs of hope.

"Sometimes its hard to note the progress unless you've been here from the start," he said. "I have visitors from D.C. that I have taken to the Ninth Ward and Gentilly and they say 'oh my God, look at the destruction' and I say 'geez, you can drive down all the streets.' "

In his months of experience spearheading a disaster of this magnitude, Allen -- also the third highest ranking official in the U.S. Coast Guard -- says he believes he has a lot to pass on to his successor. For one thing, he believes in his workers. FEMA, he says, has taken quite a beating in the media, but he says that doesn't reflect the results FEMA has also been able to achieve.

"I will tell you this... despite the press and everything else and what you have heard about FEMA, the employees I've worked with are extraodinary. Many have not been home very much since the hurricane hit and they are committed to this community and getting the job done."

Allen also says Americans should understand recovering from Hurricane Katrina will take some time, and that means it will take the committed efforts of all agencies to get the Gulf Coast back to where it once was.

"We're doing things that never have been done after a natural disaster. We're building a morgue for the state, the DNA testing, all the difficult things we're working through."

Allen also says the results of a study currently being conducted called "the re-tooling of FEMA" will be released sometime in January. That study will take a closer look at the re-organization of FEMA.

The federal agency is expected to announce Admiral Allen's replacement sometime at the end of the year.

[LA Woman3]

[CajunConservative]

*Louisiana Ping List

If you would like on or off the Louisiana Ping list please FReepmail me and your name will be added or taken off of the list.