Interesting... I think one of the legal issues is posses commitatus, which prevents active duty military from engaging in civilian law enforcement functions. State guard units are exempt from that act because they answer directly to the Govenor as their commander in chief.

Katrina was a disaster since Gov. Blanko refused to turn State units over to federal command, and Bush refused to federalzie them (even though he had no legal grounds to do so since the city nor state were in a state of rebeliion or refusing to enforce laws fairly).

FEMA has their new director, who has completely changed the manner in which FEMA works and operates, most of it based on lessons learned from Katrina as well.

Im all for planning and prevention in order to assist the people in an efficient and safe manner while being able to assist with recovery, rescue and aid delivery.

Seeing the Joplin Tornado first hand and see the response afterwards, I was impressed. At no point has there been any breakdowns with supplies, safety etc etc etc. With over 1500 law enforcement and national guards troops present for security, at no point did it feel like we were under marshal law. A curgew was in place for just the affected areas, and even then people who lived in those areas still had access.

When one idea didnt work, it was immediately scrapped and others brought to the table.

I am glad the government is taking this seriously and trying to adopt a program that interfaces well with local and state plans.

Its a good continuation and refinement of the plans in place. I look forward to seeing how tis plays out.

Originally posted by Xcathdra
FEMA has their new director, who has completely changed the manner in which FEMA works and operates, most of it based on lessons learned from Katrina as well.

Im all for planning and prevention in order to assist the people in an efficient and safe manner while being able to assist with recovery, rescue and aid delivery.

Seeing the Joplin Tornado first hand and see the response afterwards, I was impressed. At no point has there been any breakdowns with supplies, safety etc etc etc. With over 1500 law enforcement and national guards troops present for security, at no point did it feel like we were under marshal law. A curgew was in place for just the affected areas, and even then people who lived in those areas still had access.

When one idea didnt work, it was immediately scrapped and others brought to the table.

I am glad the government is taking this seriously and trying to adopt a program that interfaces well with local and state plans.

Its a good continuation and refinement of the plans in place. I look forward to seeing how tis plays out.

I have trained to be a disaster response team volunteer for the past 6 months.

went to the tornado hit area of Massachusetts.
as a red cross volunteer.

the 4 hour online classes are rough, but the live classes at the local civil defense, i really like.

and learning Red Cross animal first aid, priceless.

few people realize how much planning and trainning it takes to avoid another Katrina.

"We believe that the right person 99 percent of the time to command the entire military response inside a state is a National Guard officer who is from that state, is appointed by the governor and understands that state and has been trained by the federal side to understand the federal side of this kind of response better than almost any federal officer would," Winnefeld said.

I was initially wary of the idea of a dual commander, but that statement from Admiral Winnefeld, Northern Command, makes me feel a little better about it. I spent 45 days in and around the city of New Orleans after the hurricane with my California National Guard unit, and it was total chaos. We were isolated from the military chain of command for the first three weeks, riding with the State Troopers, doing foot patrols, searching houses, evacuations, and helping civil authorities as we could. When we finally established a chain of command with the National Guard, we started running into the 82nd Airborne everywhere we went, doubling up on things.

There was a definite need for better leadership, and not just in the military sector, but local law enforcement as well. Except for the State Troopers and ICE, the other agencies I saw out there were worse than keystone kops. I felt as though we were there to protect the citizens from the NOPD and other vigilante units as much as from any looters. A dual military commander does not address the issue of a hostile, incompetent or out-of-control local law enforcement agency that cannot be made to comply with strategic decisions made by coordinating authorities in an emergency, nor is there any mention of how to deal with private security firms operating in a disaster area under state military authority. We encountered several private security firms with armored vehicles, body armor, sub-machine guns, and absolutely no interest in talking with us or cooperating with us. They just rolled on through and did whatever they wanted, assisting no one but their wealthy clients, who were already safely out of the city, in securing their private estates and homes. They were lucky we didn't shoot 'em before we figured out who they were.

Bottom line is, you can't rely on anyone to rescue you, so be prepared. The Guard will be there quick, but we all need to get to know our neighbors and come together as a community before disasters happen.