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Marines continue search for Katrina survivors, federal troops won't enforce mandatory evacuations
By Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
Sep 7, 2005

NAVAL AIR STATION NEW ORLEANS, La. , Sept. 7, 2005 – More than 1,000 Marines who hurried to the storm-stricken Gulf Coast are continuing their search for residents still in need of rescue and life-saving sustenance after Hurricane Katrina plunged much of New Orleans under water, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force officials reported.

From their initial staging base at Stennis International Airport, in Bay St. Louis, Miss. , some 50 miles east of the storm's ground zero, elements of the active-duty 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, and the Marine Reserve's 4th Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment; and 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion were ferried to three critical areas isolated by the massive flooding, officials said.

U.S. Marines line up multipurpose utility trucks loaded with both life-sustaining supplies and cleaning materials in downtown Biloxi, Miss., on Sept. 6, 2005. The Marines are using heavy equipment to clear the streets of debris. Department of Defense units have mobilized to support hurricane relief operations in the Gulf Coast areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. DoD photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Pedro A. Rodriguez, U.S. Navy. (Released)

Using a "hub-and-spoke approach," the Marines will push out in multiple directions from Slidell, La. , and Picayune, Miss. , just north of Lake Pontchartrain, and from Michoud, in New Orleans' eastern sector. Officials said their most urgent tasks are to locate survivors in homes and other buildings not completely awash and to funnel in much-needed food and water.

Near Michoud, where movement by foot is all but impossible, the Marines will navigate the fetid waters in amphibious vehicles called "amtracs," designed to transport Marines from ship to shore during amphibious operations, officials said.

As Marines continued to pour into the region over the weekend, leadership of the Marine task force shifted to Maj. Gen. Douglas O'Dell, commander of the New Orleans-based 4th Marine Division, a reserve unit.

U.S. Marines transport disaster relief supplies on the beach of Biloxi, Miss., on Sept. 6, 2005. Department of Defense units have mobilized to support hurricane relief operations in the Gulf Coast areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The Marines are assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit Service Support Group, Camp Lejeune, N.C. DoD photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class (NAO/AW/SW) Michael Sandberg, U.S. Navy. (Released)

Most Marines now on the ground in the region and aboard naval vessels in the Gulf of Mexico are based in North Carolina with 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force. The task force, numbering some 1,500 Marines and still growing, includes reserve elements from the 4th Marine Division and 4th Marine Air Wing, officials said.

In addition, nearly 300 Marines representing the task force's logistics component began moving ashore Sept. 5 near Biloxi with an array of engineering equipment -- including forklifts, trucks, Humvees and water-purification devices -- all well-suited to disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, officials said.

U.S. Navy Sailors direct a landing craft air cushion loaded with debris-clearing heavy equipment onto a beach near Biloxi, Miss., on Sept. 6, 2005. The Navy is contributing to the humanitarian assistance operations led by the Department of Defense in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Sailors are assigned to Beach Masters Unit Two, Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va. DoD photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Pedro A. Rodriguez, U.S. Navy. (Released)

The task force's air component, composed of elements of the 2nd and 4th Marine air wings, continued to fly from hubs in Pensacola, Fla. , on the Gulf coast, and at the naval air station in Belle Chasse, La. , about 10 miles from New Orleans. After rescuing some 500 stranded residents since Sept. 1 and with the airborne rescue effort all but completed, Marine helicopters prepared to expand their support of Marine ground forces, officials said.

(From a 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force news release. )

Related Sites:
2nd Marine Expeditionary Force
Military Support in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina

U.S. Army Sgt. Daniel Loeffler and his team tread through the flooded streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans, La., during a presence patrol in support of Joint Task Force Katrina on Sept. 4, 2005. More than 2,000 paratroopers are expected to respond in support of the humanitarian and stabilization efforts in the area. Loeffler is with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. DoD photo by Sgt. Michael J. Carden, U.S. Army. (Released)

A paratrooper from the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, brings his squad to a halt in the flooded streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans, La., during a presence patrol in support of Joint Task Force Katrina on Sept. 4, 2005. More than 2,000 paratroopers are expected to respond in support of the humanitarian and stabilization efforts in the area. DoD photo by Sgt. Michael J. Carden, U.S. Army. (Released)

Federal Troops Won't Enforce Mandatory Evacuations By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2005 – Federal troops continue to deploy to the area ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, but active-duty forces will not participate in the mandatory evacuation order issued by local authorities in New Orleans, a senior military officer involved in the operations said today. Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Inge, deputy commander of U. S. Northern Command, explained that active-duty troops would not be used in "a law enforcement issue. " Guardsmen working under the order of a governor would, however, be able to enforce the mandatory evacuation order. Emergency response officials are still in rescue mode in some areas while entering the remediation process in others, said Inge, briefing Pentagon reporters via a video connection from NORTHCOM's headquarters in Colorado. Military aircraft will provide 71 hours of reconnaissance flights to survey damage "to determine what the priority for mitigation will be," Inge said. "We will continue to search and rescue. We will support the evacuation of survivors. We will transport and distribute relief supplies: ice, food, water and, of course, medical supplies. We are supporting firefighting efforts and have moved some capabilities into the (area). " More than 63,000 military personnel in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, Inge said. This includes more than 18,000 active-duty soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. The Marine Corps has finished deploying the 11th and 24th Marine Expeditionary Units into Mississippi. Two brigades of soldiers -- one from 82nd Airborne Division, from Fort Bragg, N. C. , and the 1st Cavalry Division, from Fort Hood, Texas -- will finish their deployment to Louisiana today. More than 45,000 National Guardsmen are in the region. Inge said commanders on the ground are repositioning troops to make sure the right people are in the right places. They will launch a house-by-house search in flooded areas for people who need to be rescued. Also, foreign military help is arriving. Canadian divers are helping with harbor reconstruction in the water off Pascagoula, Miss. , Inge said. A Mexican vessel is scheduled to arrive today and join the USS Bataan in conducting search-and-rescue missions. In the next few days, U. S. military personnel will continue to explore isolated areas and conduct rescues, provide for people awaiting evacuation, and expand medical facilities as needed. "We will deploy additional ships and aviation assets, should they become needed," Inge said. The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort will arrive in New Orleans Sept. 9.

Biography:
Lt. Gen. Joseph Inge, USA

Related Site:
Military Support in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina