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thedrifter
09-20-05, 12:38 PM
September 26, 2005
City’s reservists scatter out and about the U.S.
By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer

While Hurricane Katrina left the grounds of Marine Forces Reserve headquarters in the heart of New Orleans largely unscathed, leathernecks assigned to units there continue to work out of makeshift command posts scattered throughout the country.

Marines were evacuated from the headquarters just before Katrina hit, leaving behind a small detachment of Marines to keep the post going and to guard against looters.

Command groups for major Reserve units — about 850 Marines — were evacuated to locations stretching from Texas to Georgia and continue to support Reserve forces deployed to Iraq and those helping with relief efforts along the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast, said Capt. Chris Logan, a Reserve spokesman.

It is unclear how long the command groups will continue operations in their makeshift homes, but once New Orleans gives the “all clear” for residents to return to the city, the Marines will soon follow, Logan said.

“We have to be in lock step with the city,” Logan said. “But we’re prepared to run the commands out of these places indefinitely.”

The bulk of the Reserve’s headquarters has moved to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. Some of the headquarters Marines, however, were evacuated to Marine Corps Mobilization Command in Kansas City, Mo., where they’ll remain until the New Orleans headquarters is back up and running.

The interim command post for 4th Marine Division is in Grand Prairie, Texas, in spaces usually occupied by the headquarters unit for 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines.

The division commander, Maj. Gen. Douglas O’Dell, is leading a special purpose Marine task force devoted to recovery efforts in the Gulf region. While O’Dell manages the Corps’ Katrina relief efforts, the day-to-day operations of the division are being run by Col. Thomas Sward, 4th MarDiv chief of staff.

The 4th Marine Logistics Group has been relocated to spaces used by Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 42 in Marietta, Ga., while operations for 4th Marine Aircraft Wing are being run out of Naval Air Station Atlanta, Logan said.

Many Reserve units are participating in the Katrina cleanup, including helicopter squadrons, Assault amphibian units and new anti-terrorism battalion Marines. Their day-to-day support comes from Joint Task Force Katrina headquarters, while the MarForRes staff concentrates on gearing units up for Iraq rotations and other missions, Logan said.

“Nothing has changed as far as our responsibilities here and around the world,” Logan said. “We still have forces getting ready to go, going and coming back.

“Work has not stopped — it’s still business as usual.”

John Hoellwarth contributed to this report.

Ellie

thedrifter
09-20-05, 12:40 PM
September 26, 2005
Beyond New Orleans
Marines shift aid mission to hard-hit areas outside city
By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer

As the fetid floodwaters in New Orleans continue to be pumped out of the city and basic services come on line in communities hammered by Hurricane Katrina, the Corps is shifting its relief efforts from search-and-rescue operations in the city to helping residents of outlying communities where the military’s reach was minimal.

Infantry units, detachments from assault amphibian battalions, aviation squadrons and logistics units swarmed the region just days after Katrina struck. The Marines dashed headlong into the rescue operations in New Orleans and nearby Gulfport, Miss., to the east, plucking stranded citizens from debris-choked streets or their inundated homes.

But as the affected towns empty, the military’s overall mission to rescue citizens and restore order has eased, prompting a drawdown of troops throughout the region.

It is unclear how long the Corps will keep forces in the relief effort, dubbed Joint Task Force Katrina, but a spokesman said the Marines were told to expect a deployment that could stretch to 120 days.

“We doubt it’ll be quite that long, but if that’s how long we’re needed, so be it,” wrote Capt. David Nevers, spokesman for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is the headquarters element for the Marine relief effort, in an e-mail response to questions.

“We’ll redeploy when our work here is finished.”

During a brief Sept. 9 interview at his command post at New Orleans Naval Air Station, Col. John Shook, who oversees the Corps rescue operations in St. Bernard Parish just south of New Orleans, said Reserve forces eventually will take over for the active-duty troops assigned to the mission.

Shook will turn over much of his command to the 24th Marines headquarters when the Reserve takes over, but when that turnover will occur is still unclear, he said.

Shifting mission

For the time being, the nearly 2,500 Marines participating in JTF Katrina are concentrating their efforts on rural St. Bernard Parish, a string of communities stretching south from New Orleans into the Gulf of Mexico. The Marines, working with local law enforcement officials and Guardsmen, completed a “hasty search” of the entire parish the weekend of Sept. 9 and were searching door-to-door “for evident signs of life or death” the week of Sept. 12, Nevers said.

The Marines are not authorized to enter houses or businesses by force, Nevers added. Only local law enforcement can order a forcible entry.

But so far, few stranded residents have been found.

“We believe that most of the residents in need of rescue have been rescued,” Nevers said.

Marines are also helping to clear debris, using vehicles and chainsaws to cut away trees that have fallen on residents’ houses or yards.

But Marines will not take part in the recovery of remains, Nevers said. Nine Army mortuary affairs units are in the region to assist in the recovery of bodies until civilian contractors and Federal Emergency Management Agency technicians can take over. Marines will only mark the locations of remains they see and will be prohibited from touching or handling them, Nevers said.

Until the Reserve takes over, the Marine force helping in the Katrina aftermath has been divided into three principal task forces. Shook leads Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force St. Bernard, while the commander of the 11th MEU, Col. John Bullard, is heading up the SPMAGTF Slidell, patrolling a community just north of New Orleans along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain.

The aviation units are led by Col. Jeremiah Canty, Marine Air Group 42 commander.

Though it is unclear when the Corps will withdraw its active-duty forces from the Katrina task force, other units have begun to head home. Aviation assets from the 11th MEU, as well as the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman and dock landing ship Whidbey Island, are heading home, as have Army and Air Force rescue aircraft and personnel.

As of Sept 14, however, more than 68,000 troops were still involved in Katrina relief efforts, including 19 ships and 271 helicopters.

Ellie

yellowwing
09-20-05, 02:03 PM
Marines were evacuated from the headquarters just before Katrina hit, leaving behind a small detachment of Marines to keep the post going and to guard against looters.
Man, those lawless types would have had a nasty surprise if they tried for the Division Armory! :banana: