Vet News: Military Support to Katrina Relief Continues to Grow

The thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines supporting relief efforts along the Gulf Coast are increasingly playing a larger role in the Hurricane-struck Louisiana region, as the water levels recede and death toll mounts.

After Labor Day weekend, the estimated 60,000 National Guard troops and active-duty forces in the region are working feverishly to wrap up search-and-rescue operations and get the hurricane victims to safety.

"Right now, we’re still in the crisis phase of this because we have not gotten people out of the destroyed area," Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore said September 5 during an interview with CNN. "We are still looking for them...and getting them."

Honore, based at the joint task force headquarters at Camp Shelby, Miss., but spending much of his 20-hour workdays in the afflicted area, said the current force, which is increasing in size daily as more Guard and active forces continue arriving in the region, appears to be large enough for the immediate mission.

"We still have local officials to get the job done, and if we need more troops, they will flow," he said.

What’s not as clear at this point, Honore acknowledged, is how many troops will be required for the next phases of the operation, after the evacuation is complete. Removing flood waters from New Orleans, La., providing shelter for thousands of displaced residents and the long-term recovery efforts "might be harder" than the current search-and-rescue mission, Honore said.

Army Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said earlier this week during an interview with C-SPAN that Corps workers on the ground are working with local authorities to pump water from New Orleans, repair pumps knocked out of operation, bring in additional pumps and repair levees.

"Every hand is down there working," he said. "It’s a challenge. It’s a very complex thing and there are lots of variables."

Honore dismissed questions today about what’s being criticized by some as a slow government response to the disaster.

"We might be at the half time of this game. We might be losing 50 to nothing," The general said. "But I am going to focus on this next half. We are going to win this half. We are going to get it done and we are going to get it done as quickly as we can...The second half is yet to come."

MRE Production Increases
A company that packages meals ready to eat for the military has been asked to step up production because of Hurricane Katrina.

The federal government has asked Sopakco to produce an additional 425,000 cases of MREs through Jan. 6.

"We have delivered by air and land 6.5 million meals to Louisiana so far (and) over 2 million to Mississippi," Navy Admiral Timothy J. Keating told Pentagon reporters September 5 via satellite from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.. "Another 3.5 million meals (are) in the pipeline flowing forward (and) 15 million gallons of water are coming. And we’ve got 116 million pounds of ice."

Help from other Nations
September 8, The United States asked NATO to take on a bigger role transporting European aid to areas hit by Hurricane Katrina and the alliance immediately ordered military experts to draw up plans to offer more assistance. The U.S. made the request at a special meeting of ambassadors from the 26 allies. After getting their orders, NATO military experts began discussing ideas, including the possible use of ships from the elite NATO Response Force, with the U.S. Northern Command.

Separately, Northern Command Reports a Canadian contingent assisting US forces. Mexican troops have been deployed as well, setting foot on US soil for the first time since 1846, leading to the Mexican-American War. Mexican army convoys and a navy ship laden with food, supplies and specialists traveled to the U.S. this week to help in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

Compiled by reports from the Armed Forces Press Service, the Associated Press and Reuters.
Photo Credit: By Carol Guzy -- The Washington Post
Photo Credit: By Mario Tama -- Getty Images