All his advisors and czars are ivory tower socialists and have no idea how the real world works.
“we passed a law, so it is fixed.”
Helos are not just for plucking folks off of roofs. They are fantastic for dropping relief supplies, fuel blivets etc in places cut off by washed-away roads and downed bridges. They are also fantastic for medevac, which is ongoing. These ships even have mini-hospitals on board.
But Obama has not thought of this, and the Navy is probably out of his loop entirely.