We’ve been seeing images all day of U.S. Coast Guard helos rescuing victims on rooftops; but to where? The swamped Superdome? Hopefully this will answer the questions as to where next, as getting out of the city by land is virtually impossible.

While it’s doubtful — OK, quite unbelievable, really — that the Navy will be able to fix up New Orleans, it’s nice to see them mobilize. CNN is reporting that a fairly large relief effort is underway, with ships steaming from Baltimore and Norfolk. On the list are the USS Bataan (reported earlier), its sister ship the USS Iwo Jima, and the USNS Comfort, the Navy’s floating hospital, complete with NNMC/Bethesda Naval Hospital crew.

125,000 National Guardsmen have been activated in 19 states, 550 Coast Guard reservists are being recalled, and the Air Force is bringing in a C-5 Galaxy and a C-17 Globemaster III, along with the ubiquitous UH-60 Blackhawks. (So I guess it’s not just the Navy. :) ) This represents a significant effort, and I’m quite happy to see the military used for humanitarian efforts as well as defense.

Brian (Briandot)
(U.S. Navy Civilian in Washington D.C.)

USNORTHCOM (U.S. Northern Command) has established Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. as a federal operational staging area to expedite the movement of relief supplies and emergency personnel to affected areas.

Also, the USS Bataan (LHD-5), an amphibious assault ship, is on standby to provide assistance. It’s carrying three MH-53E Sea Dragon Helos, each capable of carrying 55 passengers and 16 tons of cargo over 50 NM. (ref.)

No word on whether a carrier will be redirected to the area yet — a la the tsunami — although I have heard unsubstantiated rumors to that effect. However, the LHD class (which includes the Bataan, and the Kearsarge that was recently fired at in Jordan) is essentially a small aircraft carrier in itself. Hopefully this is just the beginning of major relief efforts.

Brian (Briandot)

This is Brian (Briandot) guestposting.

This isn’t entirely new information, although I had not as yet seen anything about the scale of the mobilization. According to MSNBC (among other sources) more than 5,000 National Guardsmen — 3,500 in Louisiana alone — are being mobilized to assist with the relief effort in New Orleans and other Katrina-impacted areas.

After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, 7,000 Guardsmen were mobilized, and eventually regular troops were added to the numbers to assist. Nothing similar seems to be happening at this time, although right now efforts are still being made to assess the damage.

See more here and here (DefenseLink).

P.S. Just a link, really, but something I had not seen before:

It’s the DHS and U.S. Coast Guard Hurricane Katrina Incident Management Site; it has some press releases, some interesting photos, and some new info, e.g., that the U.S. Coast Guard Command Center has been established in Alexandria, LA. Enjoy.

(Old comments here)