I would like it if you guys WOULD NOT repost this elsewhere. Largely 'cause my buddy wrote it, and I'm sharing it here.  I asked for permission to post it here, not to spread it all over the 'net. My buddy is an officer in the USN.

I got off easy. My house, in Mobile, Alabama, received no damage. My front yard was ruined by trucks crossing it to avoid a downed tree on my road, and my back yard lost one large tree and my rear fence, plus a number of shingles from my shed which houses my lawnmowers. I was without power and phone service for 3 days, but I had constant running water, as well as hot water (they never turned off the gas line in my area). Do not feel bad for me. I will never, never, forget how lucky I am. As you all may or may not know, I'm in the US Navy. My base is in Pascagoula, Mississippi, one of the places hit hard by Katrina. Or rather, I should say, my base was in Pascagoula. What's left of it is mostly condemned and/or completely destroyed. All of the cars of all the sailors who are currently out on the three ships stationed at our base are destroyed. All of the vehicles of the sailors who stayed in Lakeside barracks in Pascagoula were completely flooded, ruining them completely. 90% of the Sailors at Naval Station Pascagoula live in Pascagoula, Gautier, Ocean Springs, Biloxi, D'Iberville, and Gulfport. Many of these names you should recognize from the news feeds. Out of the 196 people at my command (Southeast Regional Maintenance Center Pascagoula), over 40 have reported that their houses have been completely destroyed. Sailors have given me stories of being forced to stay in flooded houses with no roofs until a rescue boat could find them. Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority has reported that their houses are damaged beyond the point of habitability. Hundreds of displaced Sailors and their families are being forced to live now in cramped Navy-provided houses in Vancleave, Mississippi. A three-bedroom government house meant for 4 now holds a minimum of 8-12 people. These are the lucky ones. At least they have a roof over their heads. I spent all day in the disaster area of Mississippi looking for Sailors who have not yet reported in to their chain of command. Some just didn't know where to report (as the base has been closed to all personnel; it will reopen tomorrow for damage assessment). Some were stuck in their house, either due to their vehicles being washed away, having to take care of family members unable to leave, or guarding the remains of their property to prevent looters from taking what little possessions they had left. We started out the day with 14 missing from our command. As of this moment, there are still 10 Sailors missing in my command alone. There are dozens more Sailors and their family members who are still completely unaccounted for. People might say it's not as bad as the news makes it look. They're right. It's worse. They're trying to stave off a mass hysteria in the Gulf area, and not doing a very good job of it. There are dead bodies lying in the street. News reports have put the death toll in Mississippi at 200+. However, while in Mississippi, I have received confirmed reports that the morgues of Jackson, Harrison, and Hancock Counties are completely full. This, not even counting unfound dead, would put the death toll at well over a thousand in Mississippi alone. Last night, the guards in front of Lakeside Naval Support Facility (a barracks in downtown Pascagoula) were shot at by looters. Looters. Trying to break into a Naval facility. I'm glad I'm not there tonight. Because now they've seen a lot of valuables (microwaves, beds, TVs, DVD players) being trucked away from Lakeside. They know there's more inside. Plus the insides/stereos/rims/whatever of the 200+ vehicles stalled in the Lakeside parking lot. Do not drive in Pascagoula or any point further west without a weapon or armed escort. You will run a high risk of being hijacked for your valuables and your car. Looters have shot people over things as small as a bag of ice. And this is Mississippi. New Orleans is even worse. I'm going back tomorrow to help coordinate more relief efforts and hopefully find more of our missing Sailors. I ask each and every one of you, if you can, to donate to one of the worthy charities now working around-the-clock to provide relief to an area which still has not received any level of federal assistance. The Red Cross, the Salvation Army, anything. If you can't donate, then please, pray. Even if you're not religious, pray that just one more missing person will be found alive and healthy. Because I guarantee that a Mississippi native, found in an attic, trapped for almost a week, will be grateful beyond no end to know that someone, somewhere, was praying for his rescue, whether that person was religious or not. I probably won't be posting for a while.

God bless those who serve our people and our country on land, sea, air, in fire trucks, or in patrol cars.

Reminds me of that book "Alas Babylon".  Complete lack of law and order.  The inmates are running the asylum in several areas.

I just did an extensive search on this. I found nothing at all.  If anyone can find a link to a story I would be great full.  I'm holding out on calling BS on this one for now.  One flag was he asked you not to post it all over the web, but at the end he asks for help and prayers of all that read it?

Quoted: I just did an extensive search on this. I found nothing at all.  If anyone can find a link to a story I would be great full.  I'm holding out on calling BS on this one for now.  One flag was he asked you not to post it all over the web, but at the end he asks for help and prayers of all that read it?

GOOD LORD, MAN!  This is a personal anecdote, he said so. Of course you wouldn't find it elsewhere.  Is what's written so hard to believe in light of the huge disaster going down?

Quoted: Do not drive in Pascagoula or any point further west without a weapon or armed escort. You will run a high risk of being hijacked for your valuables and your car. Looters have shot people over things as small as a bag of ice.

This part is absolutely not bs, obviously can't verify for the rest of the post.  It's not just on the gulf coast either, Hattiesburg is bad too.  Man shot his sister over a bag of ICE there?  Even as far north as Magee (halfway between Jackson and Hattiesburg, 130 miles north of coast) it's beginning to get pretty scary, couple of people have had guns pulled on them in gas lines and a couple of attempted carjackings.  I was hoping that once the electricity got back on in the area it would maybe cool people off around there, but now Hattiesburg and Magee are both looking at estimates of 4 more weeks without electricity.  We'll see where this goes...

Quoted: Quoted: I just did an extensive search on this. I found nothing at all.  If anyone can find a link to a story I would be great full.  I'm holding out on calling BS on this one for now.  One flag was he asked you not to post it all over the web, but at the end he asks for help and prayers of all that read it? GOOD LORD, MAN!  This is a personal anecdote, he said so. Of course you wouldn't find it elsewhere.  Is what's written so hard to believe in light of the huge disaster going down?

I can write antything I want.  If the base was destroyed, then it would be some where the news, ie the internet.

You can post "The sky is blue" and some folks will post "BS" here.  

Pascagoula was wiped out

www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3793114

Nothing but cement slabs where homes were.  The Navy Base mentioned is in Pascagoula.  The base was likely wiped out.  This isn't rocket science.  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I just did an extensive search on this. I found nothing at all.  If anyone can find a link to a story I would be great full.  I'm holding out on calling BS on this one for now.  One flag was he asked you not to post it all over the web, but at the end he asks for help and prayers of all that read it? GOOD LORD, MAN!  This is a personal anecdote, he said so. Of course you wouldn't find it elsewhere.  Is what's written so hard to believe in light of the huge disaster going down? I can write antything I want.  If the base was destroyed, then it would be some where the news, ie the internet.

It was pretty well destroyed. I heard the EEI report and Support Requests on one of the MARS emergency net. It will eventually make the news. Everybody seems focused on NO.

   

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I just did an extensive search on this. I found nothing at all.  If anyone can find a link to a story I would be great full.  I'm holding out on calling BS on this one for now.  One flag was he asked you not to post it all over the web, but at the end he asks for help and prayers of all that read it? GOOD LORD, MAN!  This is a personal anecdote, he said so. Of course you wouldn't find it elsewhere.  Is what's written so hard to believe in light of the huge disaster going down? I can write antything I want.  If the base was destroyed, then it would be some where the news, ie the internet. It was pretty well destroyed. I heard the EEI report and Support Requests on one of the MARS emergency net. It will eventually make the news. Everybody seems focused on NO.

That is very sad.

Quoted: I just did an extensive search on this. I found nothing at all.  If anyone can find a link to a story I would be great full.  I'm holding out on calling BS on this one for now.  One flag was he asked you not to post it all over the web, but at the end he asks for help and prayers of all that read it?

You won't find anything at all because this was a LiveJournal post by my friend, an Ensign in the US Navy based at Pascagoula.  That's why he says "all that read it", because it was in his LJ.

NO is in such a shit state it's getting all the focus. My friend here isn't one of those people that throws BS, and he's done cruises in both the Gulf and around South America, so he's seen some pretty beat up third world places. If he says it's bad, it's bad.

"Lord of the Flies"

Quoted: "Lord of the Flies"

Essentially it.

I asked on his LJ if the Navy gave him a weapon on these patrols. If not, I HOPE he's carrying his personally owned Beretta 92FS (he's expert with it) and damn the rules. My buddy is worth more than the rules, and he's getting out in 6 months anyway.  I doubt I'll get an answer anytime soon, since he's off doing disaster work, and I don't want to bother him on his cell phone while he's busy.

Do you have cement for brains?
Let's try this again, ok.

Quoted: I would like it if you guys WOULD NOT repost this elsewhere. Largely 'cause my buddy wrote it, and I'm sharing it here.  I asked for permission to post it here, not to spread it all over the 'net. My buddy is an officer in the USN. Quoted: I just did an extensive search on this. I found nothing at all.  If anyone can find a link to a story I would be great full.  I'm holding out on calling BS on this one for now.  One flag was he asked you not to post it all over the web, but at the end he asks for help and prayers of all that read it?

Quoted: Do you have cement for brains? Let's try this again, ok.

?

Quoted: Do you have cement for brains? Let's try this again, ok. Quoted: I would like it if you guys WOULD NOT repost this elsewhere. Largely 'cause my buddy wrote it, and I'm sharing it here.  I asked for permission to post it here, not to spread it all over the 'net. My buddy is an officer in the USN. Quoted: I just did an extensive search on this. I found nothing at all.  If anyone can find a link to a story I would be great full.  I'm holding out on calling BS on this one for now.  One flag was he asked you not to post it all over the web, but at the end he asks for help and prayers of all that read it?

Look, you only find these stories if a reporter writes it and it it gets posted online.

The reporter only writes it if he/she is there to learn about it.

Given the poor road conditions, any local reporters have their homes/families to worry about and their offices are probably ruined, with no upload capability.  And I seriously doubt out-of-town reporters are there to take notes on Pascagoula.

Just because it hasn't hit the newspapers doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

 Guys, listen up. I was just there.

  I went into Biloxi yesterday (Friday) from Pensacola on a quick trip to deliver supplies to some of my employees.Well, for the ones that were still alive. Genset/fuel/ice/food/cash.We left at daybreak and left early enough to get out before the sun went down.
  Supplies loaded down, locked down, and covered up with a tarp to keep the jackers guessing and keep the honest just that. Spare tire, air comp, cans of Fix-o-flat, tools, 20 gallons of diesel for unexpected detours,and more stuff to keep the rig road ready.
  I had a buddy ride shotgun (Benelli Entry loaded "OO" Buck), HKs on the hip, and the Colt Carbine laying between the seats. Everything outta sight, but at the ready.
   Left West bound on I-10 straight into Biloxi and onto the beach / casino row via I-110.  

   Jesus christ in a chicken basket with a biscuit on the side was it all fucked up beyond comprehension. I thought IVAN was bad, but I am a humble man x100. We made it to our destination, but we did not stop for intersections unless collison was probable. To many zombified people wandering around (god bless them), but if the frenzy began, there would be no telling ...

    My employess were all accounted for except two.    Those present were more than grateful for what we brought for consumption. Ever see a fat gal at a Chinese buffet that hasn't eaten in 5 hours?
    We left out and made it down to "The Point Area" before having to turn around due to the hwy into Ocean Springs being out.  Back onto I-110, the East on I-10 until we were diverted South into Pascagoula / Gautier / Gulfport along Hwy 90 and back North to I-10 on ramp, then East again on I-10 to Mobile / Pensacola.
     
   Jeez I'm depressed.
   
   

Well, there you go.  Easily the worst national disaster in history.  Too bad all the attention is on New Orleans and not on the poor folks in Missiissippi and elsewhere.

Quoted: I just did an extensive search on this. I found nothing at all.  If anyone can find a link to a story I would be great full.  I'm holding out on calling BS on this one for now.  One flag was he asked you not to post it all over the web, but at the end he asks for help and prayers of all that read it?

Are you always an asshat, or is today special?

ETA: P-goula Naval Station is very small. The McDonalds is/was a walk up only. The exchange was about the size of an average garage.
Here's a pic of Ingalls shipyard and part of the Navsta. If the shipyard was that hard hit the Navsta was worse since it is seaward of the shipyard.
LINK

Quoted: Too bad all the attention is on New Orleans and not on the poor folks in Missiissippi and elsewhere.

I wonder why that is?

Another eyewitness report, from another board:

I made it back from Biloxi and Gulfport late last night. We delivered the ten patrol cars and a bunch of water to Biloxi and then went through Gulfport and delivered supplies to their Command Post. The devistation is extreme. Homes and businesses are damaged or destroyed everywhere. They have no power or water. Most of the streets have been cleared but there are no traffic lights. MP's and local LE are directing traffic at the major intersections. I saw gas lines over a mile long and there is a limit to what you can buy when you get there. Some people were pushing their cars because they had run out of gas waiting in line. We talked to a local business owner that said that there have been beatings and shootings over the gas line situation. I remember the gas lines in the 70's but can't imagine waiting in line for six hours to buy five or ten gallons of gas. There was a fairly large LE and Military presence in the area. I see today that more troops are on the way but I can't help but feel a little guilty about no staying and doing more, but, that wasn't our mission. We had orders to deliver the cars and supplies and return home. We need to all keep those folks in our prayers.