Army Support During The Hurricane Katrina Disaster

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Hurricane Katrina, in Aug. 2005, was the costliest hurricane as well as one of the five deadliest storms in U.S. history. It caused extensive destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas. Some 22,000 Active-Duty Army personnel assisted with relief-and-recovery operations in Mississippi and Louisiana. At the same time, all 50 states sent approx. 50,000 National Guard personnel to deal with the storm¿s aftermath. Because the media coverage of this disaster tended toward the sensational more than the analytical, many important stories remain to be told in a dispassionate manner. This study offers a dispassionate analysis of the Army¿s response to the natural disaster by providing a detailed account of the operations in Louisiana and Mississippi.

This occasional paper examines the effectiveness of the United States Army's response to Hurricane Katrina, focusing on what the Army did and how it responded in the face of a large-scale disaster unlike any other ever faced before.

The Combat Studies Institute (CSI) is pleased to announce its latest publication in the Long War Series, Occasional Paper 29, Army Support During the Hurricane Katrina Disaster, by Mr. James A. Wombwell. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 storm and was the costliest hurricane as well as one of the five deadliest storms in the history of the United States. It caused extensive destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas. The most severe loss of life and property damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, where the levee system catastrophically failed, flooding the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes.In preparation for and reaction to the hurricane, the United States Northern Command established Joint Task Force Katrina at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, to act as the Active component's on-scene commander. Some 22,000 Active-Duty personnel eventually assisted with relief-and-recovery operations in Mississippi and Louisiana. At the same time, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 territories sent approximately 50,000 National Guard personnel to deal with the storm's aftermath. These men and women were instrumental in the rescue-and-relief mission, often using their own initiative and resources in the chaotic aftermath of the storm. Because the media coverage of this great national disaster tended toward the sensational more than the analytical, many important stories remain to be told in a dispassionate manner. One such story is the response by US Army personnel, both the Active and Reserve components, within the broader governmental effort to mitigate the horrific effects of the storm. James Wombwell's study offers just such a dispassionate analysis of the Army's response to the natural disaster by providing a detailed account of the operations in Louisiana and Mississippi. Much good work was done by the Army team, but Wombwell shows that there is still room for improvement.Sadly, we have not seen the end of natural disasters in the United States, ensuring that the US Army once more will be called upon to provide assistance in their aftermath. The insights gained from the Army's experience following Hurricane Katrina, as delineated in James Wombwell's study, will make that future response even more focused and efficient. CSI-The Past Is Prologue!

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 storm and was the costliest hurricane as well as one of the five deadliest storms in the history of the United States. It caused extensive destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas. The most severe loss of life and property damage occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, where the levee system catastrophically failed, flooding the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes. In preparation for and reaction to the hurricane, the United States Northern Command established Joint Task Force Katrina at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, to act as the Active component's on-scene commander. Some 22,000 Active-Duty personnel eventually assisted with relief-and-recovery operations in Mississippi and Louisiana. At the same time, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 territories sent approximately 50,000 National Guard personnel to deal with the storm's aftermath. These men and women were instrumental in the rescue-and-relief mission, often using their own initiative and resources in the chaotic aftermath of the storm. Because the media coverage of this great national disaster tended toward the sensational more than the analytical, many important stories remain to be told in a dispassionate manner. One such story is the response by U.S. Army personnel, both the Active and Reserve components, within the broader governmental effort to mitigate the horrific effects of the storm. James Wombwell's study offers just such a dispassionate analysis of the Army's response to the natural disaster by providing a detailed account of the operations in Louisiana and Mississippi. Much good work was done by the Army team, but Wombwell shows that there is still room for improvement.

The efforts undertaken by civilian and military organizations in response to Hurricane Katrina were historically unprecedented, but a number of changes would enhance future Army and National Guard disaster-response efforts, including preparing governors to call up Guard units for out-of-state emergencies and the creation of regional standing homeland security task forces.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the largest natural disasters in U.S. history. Despite a large deployment of resources at all levels, many have regarded the fed. response as inadequate. The GAO has a body of ongoing work that covers the fed. govt.'s preparedness & response to hurricanes Katrina & Rita. This review examined: (1) the extent to which pre-Katrina plans & training exercises reflected the military assistance that might be required during a catastrophic, domestic, natural disaster; (2) the military support provided in response to Katrina & factors that affected that response; & (3) the actions the military is taking to address lessons learned from Katrina & to prepare for the next catastrophe. Includes recommendations. Illustrations.

"The objective of this report is to identify and establish a roadmap on how to do that, and lay the groundwork for transforming how this Nation- from every level of government to the private sector to individual citizens and communities - pursues a real and lasting vision of preparedness. To get there will require significant change to the status quo, to include adjustments to policy, structure, and mindset"--P. 2.

Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophic domestic emergency that, in its deaths and destruction, had many of the possible characteristics of future terrorist attacks, especially those that could occur simultaneously in different parts of the United States or involve the use of weapons of mass destruction. It thus provides a case study that helps further our understanding of the problems that can arise during the nation's response to such an event. Such a case study will also help to determine how the United States might better prepare to respond to future catastrophic domestic emergencies. The efforts undertaken by civilian and military organizations in response to Hurricane Katrina were historically unprecedented. But, as the many "lessons-learned" reports generated to date have documented, the response was tragically inadequate. Having researched what happened, the authors focused their analysis on the problems that affected the outcome of the response to Hurricane Katrina in a major way. The single most important problem was the speed with which the nation's local, state, and federal civilian organizations were overwhelmed. However, problems also were evident with the military response in the critical first few days of the disaster, problems that contributed to delays in evacuation and in accomplishing search and rescue operations throughout the storm-ravaged areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. The lessons-learned reports focus on the time it took for both the National Guard and active land forces to arrive in the region. Another problem in the military's response to Hurricane Katrina highlighted in the reports is the lack of a unified command and control (C2) structure, specifically the separation of the command structures for operations involving both National Guard and active-duty forces. The authors present recommendations for improving the Army's response to future catastrophic domestic emergencies.

U.S. G.P.O. sales statement incorrect in publication.