Guard unable to deal with 2 hurricanes

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Guard unable to deal with 2 hurricanes

Strapped by war and equipment shortages, the National Guard will find it difficult to deal with two or more major hurricanes if they sweep ashore in different regions around the same time, Guard leaders say.

To counter equipment shortfalls caused largely by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Guard has borrowed more than $500 million worth of equipment from the active duty military to restock its units. Thousands of trucks, Humvees and other supplies have been shifted mostly from inland states' Guard units closer to where storms are more likely to strike.

Army and Air Guard officials also are spending at least $900 million on new communications equipment and hundreds of tractors and trucks.

But that may be too little, too late, for states warily watching the weather reports as the nation enters peak hurricane season.

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Didn't we learn that with just one storm, Katrina?

Well, we can give the author a captain obvious award.....
It dosnt take a huge study to find this out. But yet the reporters do it anyway.

And i would have to say that this was the aim of drawing American national guardsmen ( the true defenders of the community) forces out of America and right into the hell hole that is Iraq while the American government retains it's 'loyal' army units in reserve to do their bidding when the time comes.

Stellar

Wasn't this hurricane season supposed to be just as bad as last year?

Betcha they got alot of grant money for making that prediction.

It just goes to show you bad news = more grant money!!!

Yet there will always be people who fall for it!

The biggest culprit is Global Warming.

Global Warming = $$$

Not surprising.

The National Guard is organized, trained, and equipped to fight wars, not deal with natural disasters. They are not able to deal with that type of action. The leadership does not have the skills. The individual soldiers are not experienced or trained in it. Their equipment is not designed for it.

Yet by default the standard reply is "Send in the National Guard!"

The National Guard is organized, trained, and equipped to fight wars, not deal with natural disasters. They are not able to deal with that type of action. The leadership does not have the skills. The individual soldiers are not experienced or trained in it. Their equipment is not designed for it.

What on earth gave you that idea?

The NG is organized, trained, and equipped for disaster relief, and for combat as well. Their primary responsibility most of the time is to supply manpower and hardware in response to hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, floods, terrorist attacks, riots, and any other disaster, man-made or natural.

They most certainly are able to deal with that type of action. It's their job. Ask the governor of any state whether the guardsmen under his command are able to effectively handle disaster relief operations, including what is, perhaps, the most critical element: search and rescue.

The individual soldiers most certainly are experienced and trained to protect vital infrastructure, to assist in evacuations, to help fight fires, to sandbag homes in prep. for floods, to clear debris left by hurricanes, and on and on. It's their job, dude.

Their equipment isn't designed for it? What does that mean? They have trucks, they have heavy earth-moving machinery, and most importantly, they have warm, able bodies.

Where did you get this idea from anyway? Just go to the webpages of some guard units, and you'll see disaster relief listed as their primary responsibility, along with civil defense, and supporting active combat operations overseas.

I personally think the National Guard should stay in the nation, but maybe that's just me being picky. It seems, though, that the guard isn't much use in disaster relief and civil defense, if they're halfway around the world.

As a former firefighter I have worked extensively alongside the military and the national guard an am not impressed. Their commanders do not know how to handle natural disasters. They are trained in combat operations and I do not belittle their expertise in that arena. Natural disaster management requires a different set of knowledge, skills, and experience. Skills in military operations are not interchangeable with natural disasters.

When NG are mobilized for natural disasters, the primary purpose is for the Governor's photo op with the troops. Once in the field they are best used performing the menial unskilled tasks such as filling sandbags, under the direct supervision of someone experienced in the specific tasks needed. There are some overlaps, of course. Some of the military heavy equipment is occasionally suited for the task, most often not. Usually, fire department and local private sector equipment is better suited.

Nearly all fire and SAR commanders groan when they hear the governor is mobilizing the NG to help them out. They are more a hindrance than a help. The military helicopters are are not equipped to be useful (and their pilots are usually less skilled than their civilian pilot counterparts. I expect some flaming over that, but it's true). The heavy trucks are not suited to be driven on remote mountainous roads. Their commanders want to run things, yet do not have a clue how to deal with fires and floods. But they all claim they are. I will gladly follow the advice of a military commander when someone is shooting at me, but not when developing an action plan for a fire or flood or earthquake S&R.

Sure their websites all have action photos of the NG saving the world. They are all carefully staged pictures. On many occasions I was told to leave the scene when a NG photographer or videographer showed up. They did not want to show any mere 'civilians' in the shots -- only soldiers. I once watched all the red fire department dept trucks being moved away so only green NG trucks were in the background. All work halted while the military public relations folks carefully staged the photo, which appeared in the next day's newspaper under the banner "National Guardsmen Save Town".

Hurricane Katrina is an excellent example. There was much media hoopla over FEMA and NG handling the response. Completely ignored by the MSM was the dozens of communities and towns elsewhere in the Gulf region where FEMA and NG did not go, and the existing local emergency infrastructure handled rescue, EMS, and disaster relief smoothly and effectively, including bringing in fire rescue and EMS personnel and equipment from across the country and deploying them efficiently (through existing interagency cooperative agreements and the national incident command network -- used by LE, fire depts, and EMS for decades.)



On a semi-related side note -- did you read in the news about the National Park Service teams deployed across the Gulf Region following Katrina to help local governments salvage historic buildings and records? Or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service teams sent to help deal with the alligators and water moccasins and other interesting creatures in peoples yards and in downtown streets? Of the Forest Service teams to help clear and rebuild rural roads? No, you didn't. The MSM was largely silent, instead focusing on New Orleans.

As a former firefighter I have worked extensively alongside the military and the national guard an am not impressed.

Well, I have to defer to your experience in this regard. I've never worked alongside the NG, I just know what I read and see in the media, and I must say, you make a good case.

Natural disaster management requires a different set of knowledge, skills, and experience. Skills in military operations are not interchangeable with natural disasters.

I would think there would be a lot of overlap, in terms of S&R procedures, crowd control, setting up lines of communication, providing things like fresh water and food, things of that nature. And, as you say, they can fill sandbags and push brooms, clear brush and dig fire-lines, and do all the menial things required to get a town back on track after a disaster.

The military helicopters are are not equipped to be useful (and their pilots are usually less skilled than their civilian pilot counterparts. I expect some flaming over that, but it's true).

Why do you suppose that is? Is it because there's competition in the private sector, that weeds out the ineffective and mediocre? I'm glad you're prepared for some flaming, but I think people ought to realize you're entitled to your opinion.

Or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service teams sent to help deal with the alligators and water moccasins and other interesting creatures in peoples yards and in downtown streets? Of the Forest Service teams to help clear and rebuild rural roads? No, you didn't. The MSM was largely silent, instead focusing on New Orleans.

You make a good point. Although I do recall reading about the Fish and Game helicopter pilots putting FEMA to shame by disobeying orders and rescuing dozens of people on their own. I'm sure you remember, for a while the waters were rising in a lot of outlying communities, people were trapped in their attics, and there wasn't a lot of effort made to assist them, at least on the part of FEMA and the NG who were, as you say, focused on NO. The Fish and Game guys did a great thing in picking up that slack, they should be proud of themselves.

I know I'm proud of them.