The U.S. Air Force response to Hurricane Katrina.(Cover story) Publication Date: 22-SEP-07 Publication Title: Air Power History Format: Online Author: Haulman, Daniel L. Read this article now Try Goliath Business News – FREE!  You can view this article PLUS... Over 5 million business articles Hundreds of the most trusted magazines, newswires, and journals (see list) Premium business information that is timely and relevant Unlimited Access Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News Free for 7 Days! Tell Me More   Terms and Conditions Purchase this article for $4.95

Description

Media images of destitute flood victims in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina generated the impression of an unresponsive federal government. Critics understandably took aim at the mayor, the Louisiana governor, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the President. Some also criticized the Department of Defense as if it had failed to furnish the quick and massive humanitarian relief which the American people had come to expect after a natural disaster. Some suspected that Pentagon resources were stretched thin for an adequate response because of ongoing combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan on the other side of the world. This paper will explore the validity of that impression by focusing on the response of the U.S. Air Force, as part of the larger Department of Defense, to the crisis posed by Hurricane Katrina. (1) The Air Force was involved even before the storm hit. During late August 2005, the Hurricane Hunters of the 53d Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (403d Wing) in their WC-130 airplanes tracked and measured Katrina's intensity and location as it crossed the tip of Florida and grew into a category 5 monster in the Gulf of Mexico. Between August 23 and 29, squadron aircrews flew more than 109 hours tracking the storm. As Katrina approached the central Gulf coast, the squadron dispersed its aircraft, which were stationed at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, to bases beyond the projected storm path. (2) Early on Monday morning August 29, Hurricane Katrina hit southeast Louisiana with winds up to 140 miles per hour. After making landfall near Buras, it followed a northward track to the Louisiana-Mississippi border. East of there, the counterclockwise winds pushed a 28-foot storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico northward into the towns of coastal Mississippi and southwestern Alabama. A combination of wind, rain, and storm surge destroyed countless buildings, leaving a scoured landscape, but the floodwaters there receded almost as rapidly as they had come. West of the storm center, the winds blew from north to south, pushing a swollen Lake Pontchartrain into the canals of New Orleans. Failures of floodwalls along those canals and overtopping of levees in the east left 80 percent of the city flooded for weeks. Of some 485,000 residents, approximately 100,000 who had not evacuated awaited rescue as they struggled to survive without adequate food, water, shelter, plumbing, electricity, and communications. All the parishes east and south of New Orleans were also flooded. Hurricane Katrina eventually caused 1,304 deaths and some $50 billion in destruction and damage. (3) President George W. Bush waited for Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco's request for federal assistance before committing the defense forces already prepared. That request was delayed, in part because initial news reports prematurely declared that New Orleans had "dodged the bullet" and escaped another big hurricane. The broken levees and resultant flooding did not become apparent until after the storm had passed. On August 31, Governor Blanco asked for federal intervention. That same day, the President cut short his Texas vacation and returned to Washington. Aboard Air Force One, the President flew low over the coastal disaster area so that he could see the destruction for himself. (4) Once the governors of the affected states requested federal assistance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), tapped the Department of Defense for military assistance. The same day, the U.S. Northern Command set up Joint Task Force Katrina under Lt. Gen. Russell L. Honore, the commander of the First U.S. Army, at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Maj. Gen. M. Scott Mayes, commander of the First Air Force, served as the task force's joint forces air component commander (JFACC). General Mayes established the 1st Aerospace Expeditionary Task Force-Katrina at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The task force set up various air expeditionary groups for a massive disaster relief operation. For example, the 97th Air Expeditionary Group was activated at Keesler. By September 7, the Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and the Air National Guard...

Looking for additional articles?
Click here to search our database of over 3 million articles.