Who's Slow-- FEMA or the LLMSM Storytellers?

Must read Jack Kelly piece:

Jason van Steenwyk is a Florida Army National Guardsman who has been mobilized six times for hurricane relief. He notes that:

"The federal government pretty much met its standard time lines, but the volume of support provided during the 72-96 hour was unprecedented. The federal response here was faster than Hugo, faster than Andrew, faster than Iniki, faster than Francine and Jeanne."

For instance, it took five days for National Guard troops to arrive in strength on the scene in Homestead, Fla. after Hurricane Andrew hit in 1992. But after Katrina, there was a significant National Guard presence in the afflicted region in three.

Journalists who are long on opinions and short on knowledge have no idea what is involved in moving hundreds of tons of relief supplies into an area the size of England in which power lines are down, telecommunications are out, no gasoline is available, bridges are damaged, roads and airports are covered with debris, and apparently have little interest in finding out.

So they libel as a "national disgrace" the most monumental and successful disaster relief operation in world history.

The only government response that was anywhere near competent was the federal one.

Kelly's Typo Corrected: A brain fart, he says.

He's agreed to be on Hoist the Black Flag next Tuesday.

Oh, and for tomorrow: Annie Jacobsen, author of Terror in the Skies. You will remember her for her expose about the suspected terrorist "dry run" aboard a Northwestern flight about a year back.

Geek Bonus Points! Kelly's article contains a quote from a Guardsman that, as of yet, the military doesn't possess Star Trek "replicators or transporters" allowing them to instantly beam down into the disaster area and start replicatin' up some good Cajun cookin' for the starving victims.

posted by Ace at 12:40 PM

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