Where's the National Guard?

[saintjohn]

They're all in Iraq, right? Wrong. As of 31 August 2005, there were 3,748 Louisiana Army National Guardsmen and Army Reservists and 193 Air Guardsmen and Reservists on active duty. Most of them, about 3,500, are with the 256th Infantry Brigade in Iraq. This leaves 8,000+ Guardsmen and an unknown number of Army Reservists available for disaster relief. One of the remaining units, the 225th Engineer Group, (Combat), and its four organic Engineer Battalions (Combat)(Heavy), is particularly well-suited for disaster relief. According to the Louisiana National Guard, this is the largest engineer unit in the reserve military.

The real question isn't "Where is the National Guard?" It's "Why weren't they activated sooner?"

[Chica]

they are acting SLOW and ppl are dying.........unbeliavable!

[JMT]

im glad someone stated the facts.

yes, they should have been sent immediately.

[saintjohn]

Some governors have difficulty appreciating what the National Guard units of their respective states can (and can not) do. Those without military experience, or the ability to use Google, seem to think that Guard units sit around, in uniform, with their trucks loaded with rfelief supplies, waiting to spring into action after a disaster. The reality, however, is quite different. Mobilizing units takes time. Getting them to the scene takes time. Establishing a coherent chain of command for the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, the military, non-governmental organizations, et cetera takes time. The sad thing is, there was plenty of time before Katrina made landfall to get the process started so that troops would've been fully ready to roll as soon as the storm had passed. Unfortunately, Louisiana's governor failed to act in time.

[slamminshaun]

If you're a governor, and the experts tell you one of your major cities will be under water if a major hurricane were to ever hit, why would you sit on your hands as a Cat 5 approaches? I don't know the answer, you'd have to ask the governor of Louisiana that and quit blaming Bush for all the problems down there. The governor is in charge of the natiional guard in Louisiana....not Bush.

She could've dispatched them ahead of time along with the state police. Did she? No....She is the top law enforcement officer in the state. She let this get out of hand from the beginning.....Haley Barbour seems to have it under control in Mississippi. Maybe she should take some lessons from him.

[swirlundergrounder]

That's what's coonfusing the hell out of me. If they had the troops in the region (Louisiana) why were they not deployed a couple of days ago or the day after the hurricane hit? Does it take 3 to 4 days to figure out 'hey we need to get some troops into the area b4 all hell breaks loose'? Why is the first wave of troops to get to N.O coming in from Iraq? Shouldn't the first wave have been from within Louisiana and already been in N.O before these N.G troops from Iraq?

The numbers you guys are posting about troop deployments say one thing but the actions and slow deployment of the National Guard say another thing....

[swirlundergrounder]

According to the original post of this thread, there are approx 4,000 national guard in Louisiana.

I'm sure that the LA National guard has had drills and excercises practicing this scenario out many times over the years. They all know, we all knew how vunerable New Orleans was to flood and hurricane damage. FEMA was even there last year running practice drills for an event like this.

Surely a plan was in place right? A well thought out plan right? That's what I'm assuming.

So if there was a plan in place for such an event I'm sure that the plan didn't include troops not being in the area for 3 to 4 days!!!

A lot can happen in 3 to 4 days as we've all witnessed!!

So if these troops were in Louisiana (which I'm sure there were some) then why wasn't this emergency plan put into place right away. Even b4 the storm hit?

So my thinking is that there weren't enough personel to handle the scenario right away meaning that the troops in Louisiana were spread out. But if I can remember Louisiana isn't a very big state. Surely you can get from end to end within a day?

Do you see where my suspicions are coming from?

[slamminshaun]

In order for that plan to be executed, the governor of Louisiana has to put it into action. She failed to do so, and now, is reduced to crying on TV instead of taking a strong leadership position. Compare Rudolph Giuliani after 9/11 to this woman.....

[swirlundergrounder]

Originally Posted by Slammin'

In order for that plan to be executed, the governor of Louisiana has to put it into action. She failed to do so, and now, is reduced to crying on TV instead of taking a strong leadership position. Compare Rudolph Giuliani after 9/11 to this woman.....

It does look bad for her doesn't it? You're hearing more from the Mayor of N.O than the Govenor herself...

[saintjohn]

Originally Posted by .......otnisaJ

According to the original post of this thread, there are approx 4,000 national guard in Louisiana.

Reading comprehension skills: 8,000+ National Guard troops were in Louisiana on 31 August. The rest (almost 4,000) are coming home from Iraq right now - as part of their regularly scheduled rotation.