Katrina: Myths and Reality

National Guard, Jan 2006 by Maietta, John

In November I returned from a 10-week National Guard tour in support of hurricane recovery in Louisiana.

As America's worst natural disaster fades from the headlines, public misperceptions remain-and have been largely enshrined-as established truth. Abiding respect for my fellow Guardsmen, however, compels me to set the record straight.

Myth No. 1: The Louisiana Super/dome was a hellhole of not, rape and murder.

The reality: Conditions were unpleasant, to be sure. But the deaths amounted to six: four from natural causes; one by suicide; one from an apparent drug overdose.

Portrayals ol trapped evacuees descending into savagery frankly smack of racism. Little noted in the breathless TV reports were the extraordinary efforts of 250 Guardsmen (many rendered homeless themselves) who had secured the facility within hours of the unexpected flooding.

For nine days straight they dispensed food, water and a calming influence, ensuring a measure of comfort and dignity to 30,000 anxious people.

Regrettably, blame and political posturing have obscured the facts about this and many other heroic attempts to make the best of a bad situation.

In October testimony before Congress, the commander of the Louisiana National Guard, Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau, tried to paint an accurate picture of events in the Superdome and, disgracefully, was accused of lying under oath.

Myth No. 2: The active-duty Army saved the day, restoring law and order after the wholesale failure of state and local authorities.

The reality: Active-duty soldiers on the ground numbered a few thousand at best, and most did not show up until days alter the first Guard elements arrived. By Sept. 10, the Guard presence in affected states had swelled to 50,000. Nearly 30,000 were deployed to Louisiana alone (and 3,000 remain on duty there now).

Camped in downtown New Orleans, national media iocused much of their attention on the relatively small number of active-duty troops posted nearby.

Meanwhile, far from the cameras, across an area twice the size of Pennsylvania, Guard soldiers and airmen delivered humanitarian aid, assisted with law enforcement (a military role unique to the Guard) and helped save the lives of 17,000 citizens in distress.

Combining modesty with a sense of purpose, Guard commanders adopted a simple catchphrase to describe their mission: "Neighbors helping neighbors."

The chief of the National Guard Bureau, Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, rightly observed, "This was one of the Guard's finest hours."

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita energized the largest peacetime response in the Guard's 369-year history.

Moreover, this was driven not by federal orders from the Pentagon, but by voluntary deployments from each of the 54 states and territories, facilitated by time-tested, state-tostate emergency assistance agreements.

As the framers of the Constitution intended, this huge military force was firmly under civilian control, working for the governors and, ultimately, the people of Louisiana and Mississippi.

As always, the diversity of National Guard talents contributed immeasurably to the suecess of the operation.

Chemical-biological teams from Alaska, experienced in pipeline protection, brought their skills to bear in surveying damage to critical oil and gas infrastructure.

The Guam National Guard-experts in rendering posttyphoon support-signed up for a full three months of duty, 7,000 miles from home.

A Washington state legislator volunteered to serve as a civil affairs NCO, helping local officials formulate requests for Guard intervention.

Alabama soldiers established a "continuity of government" team, assisting in the restoration of basic administrative functions for battered Cameron Parish, ground zero for Hurricane Rita.

Some political trial balloons launched toward Washington, D.C., advocate an active-duty military takeover of future catastrophic events. Most governors and members of Congress do not buy this ill-acMsed proposal. As the National Response Plan itself dictates, any military involvement in domestic emergencies must be strictly subordinate to civil authority.

Given those circumstances, the National Guard is clearly America's force of choice.

By Col. John Maietta

The author is a public affairs officer for the Pennsylvania National Guard.