Got this last night frm a buddy of mine.....and just found out my Dad is at the airport getting it back on line (FAA). God luck to all of you down there.

"I am currently involved in the relief effort stemming
from the Hurricane.
My guys were on the O'Reilley show on FOX last night
as we are executing SAR operations in the belly of the beast.

I am disheartened by our governments response. We are
a dead nation. We have no response. The national security ramifications
of this event haven't even begun to surface but it is a nightmare.

Boys get fuel and put it away. We have no refining
capability.

1,000s have died due to the governments lack of
response effort. People are lying and floating dead throughout the AOR,
lotters/nuts are running rampant- people are straving to death and dying from
dehydration- my teams report it is hell on earth- worse than one could ever
imagine.

We have organized a massive airlift capability, water,
food, and other key items along with the logistics to get them where they
need to go and the government can't fucking figure out what to do with
us...........it's total madness. We have been rescuing people on our own
dime as it's the right thing to do for the country but in the final
analysis helicopters don't fly for free.......FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

We rescued a little boy and a number of other trapped
individuals yesterday- flash to bang time from mission order to
deployment to Florida and time on the objective was less than 18 hrs. If we
can do it then how come the whole fucking US government can't?
Sad............

If this is a glimpse of things to come (which it is)
we are doomed.

Wish I was with you all or rather wish you were here
with us. You'd be proud of our boys they are accomplishing the
impossible."

I agree with him, but I think he's blaming the wrong people. He says the federal government is getting the stuff in there but don't seem to know what to do with it. If that's the case, the Feds are doing what they are suppose to do. It's up to the city and state to determine where it needs to go. This has been the problem from the very start.

Quoted: I agree with him, but I think he's blaming the wrong people. He says the federal government is getting the stuff in there but don't seem to know what to do with it. If that's the case, the Feds are doing what they are suppose to do. It's up to the city and state to determine where it needs to go. This has been the problem from the very start.

I could have not said it better, I have 15 year in this line of work, and NO really dropped the ball.

Quoted: I agree with him, but I think he's blaming the wrong people. He says the federal government is getting the stuff in there but don't seem to know what to do with it. If that's the case, the Feds are doing what they are suppose to do. It's up to the city and state to determine where it needs to go. This has been the problem from the very start.

Yep.

Local government inept and incoherent.

Local police 67-75% disappear.

How exactly is the Federal Government supposed to be able to come in and direct help in a city they are not familiar with.

Quoted: Quoted: I agree with him, but I think he's blaming the wrong people. He says the federal government is getting the stuff in there but don't seem to know what to do with it. If that's the case, the Feds are doing what they are suppose to do. It's up to the city and state to determine where it needs to go. This has been the problem from the very start. I could have not said it better, I have 15 year in this line of work, and NO really dropped the ball.

Ding ding, we have a winner.

Quoted: If we can do it then how come the whole fucking US government can't?

Because he's there as a local. The Federal 'gubment was not created to rescue stupid people who don't evacuate from a below sea-level city when a HUGE hurricane blows through.

Quoted: Quoted: If we can do it then how come the whole fucking US government can't? Because he's there as a local. The Federal 'gubment was not created to rescue stupid people who don't evacuate from a below sea-level city when a HUGE hurricane blows through.

The friend of mine who wrote that was thinking along the lines of FEMA and DHS planning for a WMD event-where they expect a high rate of fatilities for first responders-who'll be left to to distribute aid and do recovery work if all the local cops are dead?

Spoke to my best friend who works for the author of the first letter. he's frustrated that he can't do more, pissed that enough hasn't been done already, and disappointed in what he perceives as the US Gov.org dropping the ball.

Personally, I'm not making a decision until this is over. But whoever is to blame, this is one giant clusterfuck, IMO.

he also said that many bodies have been washed away with the current and that he flew over two areas where they had "logjammed". Said it was a lake of bodies....and no, no pics. FWIW.

THe problem lies directly with the Parish leaders, the mayor and the governor.  Not one of them had any clue to their responsibility.  The Federal troops cannot be sent in until Congress approves.  But the Governor could have sent the NG in, only that would be on her dime.

She was pussy-footing around, waiting on help from the Federal level in order to save LA funds.

I think that in the grand scheme of things -just like back in the cold war days the objective of FEMA and the other agencies is to first preserve a working government THEN salvage what they can of the rest of us.  to that end if you look at they are already on to a long term planning stage rather than complete the rescue phase --that can now in thier view be left up to the local and state and military folks FEMA must get the DMV and  Social Services working agian. The IRS is more important than you --dont you know that yet? The beauracracy MUST be preserved.

"No refining capacity"?  LOOP is operational and the refineries, while suffering some degree of flooding, are not damaged.

Quoted: I think that in the grand scheme of things -just like back in the cold war days the objective of FEMA and the other agencies is to first preserve a working government THEN salvage what they can of the rest of us.  to that end if you look at they are already on to a long term planning stage rather than complete the rescue phase --that can now in thier view be left up to the local and state and military folks FEMA must get the DMV and  Social Services working agian. The IRS is more important than you --dont you know that yet? The beauracracy MUST be preserved.

Point taken. I told my wife that the X-Files movie was right, FEMA is really the shadow government, because they sure as shit didn't seem to be able to handle emergencies......

beauracracy-proof that the devil is real.