WEBVTT

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Yeah ,

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right .

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You were by the doors , you could hear

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the howling , the whistling and you can

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see debris flying horizontally down the

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road . We basically chased the

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storm ashore just east of new Orleans

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Louisiana . We found about 100 miles an

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hour wind on the west side of the storm ,

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about 145 MPH wind on the east side in

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Afghanistan and Iraq . I've never seen

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nothing like this .

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The most destructive storm in American

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history slammed ashore near dawn monday

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august 29th near the Mississippi

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Louisiana state line . Hurricane

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Katrina and her sustained winds of 145

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miles an hour cause destruction like

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this . Across four states , The storm

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surge pushed a record 29 ft high wall

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of water across coastal communities .

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By midday this region was the scene of

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a mammoth natural and national disaster .

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In this edition of recon will look at

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the massive military effort that

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followed , I thought I would never seen

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in my lifetime the disaster of biblical

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proportion . The devastation was

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horrific . Katrina , flattened homes

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and businesses along the coast from

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western florida to Louisiana , Railroad

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cars , tractor trailers and even

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buildings were tossed about like

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matchsticks with electricity and

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communications systems out . People

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weren't even able to call for help or

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report the scope of the disaster .

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National Guard forces , some of them

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prepositioned , hurried to respond .

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But roads in the most heavily damaged

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areas were impassable , blocked by

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debris and uprooted trees . Early

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efforts were directed at finding and

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rescuing thousands of trapped people .

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It was soon clear that military

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helicopters would be the only effective

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means of getting large numbers of

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people to safety . The pace of

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operations was something I've never

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seen before . Um The expectation was is

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that we will fly fly the maximum that

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we can . Coast Guard pilot tom Meyer ,

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usually stationed in Hawaii , was on a

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training assignment in the gulf region .

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When Katrina made landfall , he

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volunteered for duty and was

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immediately put to work first in

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Mississippi . A lot of the hoisting and

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extractions we did that night weren't

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optimal for us . They're very demanding ,

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very demanding on the crew and the

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aircraft and really bumping up on the

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safety margins . But when there's no

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other assets on the ground to get down

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there and get these people , it's

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incumbent upon us to utilize our

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expertise and our procedures to get

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them out . Two ladies that were

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signaling with a flashlight from , from

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an attic window that we put our swimmer

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down here to take our crash , acts out

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of the aircraft here and and cut a hole

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through the , through the roof and

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extract the two ladies through there .

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But unbelievable stories when we got

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back and listen to these ladies riding

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out the storm , then he was needed in

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new Orleans . Hundreds of thousands had

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left after the city ordered an

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evacuation the weekend before the storm ,

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but tens of thousands couldn't or

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wouldn't leave . It was pure hell . The

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lady my mother as a caregiver for

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refused to leave and my mom is the only

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advocate or crunching . You know , I

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couldn't leave my mom . So I did what I

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had to do and I never thought and they

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never thought that that water would

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rise to the point where we were up in

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the attic . Coast Guard helicopters and

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crews were rescuing as many people as

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they could carry . It was a situation

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we were operating at our power required .

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Power available was equaling each other ,

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which is in a good situation for us .

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And what we were doing was we were

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operating at that power required and

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we're hoisting hoisting hoisting until

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that power available evaporated . And

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we said that's all we can take and we

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would go . The rescues continued hour

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after hour . How many did Lieutenant

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Commander Myers Cruz save he lost count

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after 180 . The pace was just too

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fast as Katrina was moving through .

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6000 people were riding out the storm

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at Keesler Air Force base in Biloxi

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Mississippi . 1000 of them were in the

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base hospital . There was flooding and

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power was out . We had heroes that were

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providing manual compression for

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people who were on ventilators until we

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could get some some portable emergency

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generators and literally saved their

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lives . They gave birth to four babies .

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One of those with by C section under

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flashlight .

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Oh , I think I'll start have a good day .

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People across the region pitched in as

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a rapidly increasing military presence

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found ways to get them water , ice and

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food . Staff Sergeant Glenn Toronto's

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home in hard hit bay ST louis

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Mississippi was destroyed but he's

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still reporting for National Guard Duty .

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Older people tell , you know , treat

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people how you want to be treated .

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Trying to whether you're rich or poor ,

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trying to if you could help somebody ,

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even if you have a full person , you

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can help somebody help you , The rich

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person just help them . If I could use

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these words like we all are brothers

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and sisters and aunts and uncles here .

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I mean we're pulling together because

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we know is a community that we have to

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survive the day of the storm . We

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started rescuing people . And then we

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opened the store at the shelter . We

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had people sleeping all over on the

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floor because we had cleaned them and

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got most of the dirt out stuff . And

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then the next day more people started

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coming . We had , we had a school bus

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parked outside , people were sleeping

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on the school bus and sleeping on the

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floor in here and everybody was hungry

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and thirsty . And so me and my wife ,

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we started giving our food away in the

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story to feed the people . And we did

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that for the first three days and then

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we started getting some drop shipments

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of food . We're trying to get to remote

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areas that the big convoys can't get to

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the people may still be isolated or

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they can't get to a relief point due to

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no vehicle or no gas in those vehicles .

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So it's helping out the smaller

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communities in little pockets of people

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that evacuation centres across three

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Coast county . I can't say that the

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military did an excellent job . Again .

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I can't say enough . I truly can't say

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enough . They have been just wonderful .

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And I want to thank everybody all of

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you know , people talk about the Coast

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Guard , the CBS , the marines , the

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navy , but I want everybody know we're

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all mere one , you know , no matter

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where you're from ,

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these national guardsmen are from

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Wisconsin . These are from New Mexico

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and these are from Arkansas . More than

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40,000 guard members from 40 states

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headed for the gulf region . They were

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called up under the guards Emergency

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management assistance compact which

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allows the loan of troops and equipment

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to States in need of extra help in its

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role as a state militia . The National

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Guard can perform police duties ,

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something federal forces are forbidden

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to do by law and with a brief outbreak

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of lawlessness in New Orleans in the

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days after the storm , extra police

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help was needed . What

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Get out of here . That's when we

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started flowing military police into

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the theatre . Two days ago , we flowed

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1400 military policemen and

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Yesterday 1400 more today . 1400 more .

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Today . There are 7000 citizen

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soldiers on the National Guard . Thats

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carrying military policemen and other

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soldiers trained and support the civil

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law enforcement that are on the streets

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available to the mayor provided by the

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governor to the mayor to assist

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the new Orleans Police Department

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disorder wasn't confined to New Orleans .

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For example , the experience one

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kessler and ceo faced while trying to

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get back to the base after the storm .

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She was many miles north of here in a

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long line of cars waiting to get gas

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and an elderly woman was being held up

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by gunpoint and uh , this uh , this

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person decided that he wanted to the

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carjacker take her money and wanted her

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gas and staff Sergeant Singleton step

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between the gunman and the elderly lady

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and said , look , we're here to help if

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you're going to shoot anybody today ,

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you shoot me now . Here take your gas

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and get out of here . Yeah . The rich

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mix of french english african ,

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american and spanish influences over

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the years produced a unique culture in

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new Orleans . The big easy as it's

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called came to be noted for its rich

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food and its distinctive music .

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That legacy was further

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jeopardized by the second hazard .

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Katrina carried with her torrential

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rains river have busted through the

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storm had flooded much of the low lying

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city and weakened levees protecting new

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Orleans from the Mississippi river and

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lake pontchartrain . By late morning ,

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they broke in several places and more

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water flowed in the levees were built

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to withstand a category three hurricane

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and Katrina was a much stronger

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Category four . The Army Corps of

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Engineers built the levees and have the

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difficult task of repairing them . We

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and the local officials new the

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capacity of this levee system to handle

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this storm . And that is exactly why

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the mayor and the governor ordered the

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evacuation of new Orleans because they

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knew that if a category four or five

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hurricane were to strike new Orleans ,

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that this levee system could not be

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relied upon . Military convoys brought

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much needed supplies to residents who

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had been stranded in the Superdome .

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And in the city's convention center ,

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tens of thousands of people were soon

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being evacuated to other cities . Still ,

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there were many new orleanians left who

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didn't want to leave . But the rising

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waters were a health hazard carrying

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raw sewage , petrochemicals , even dead

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bodies . Military teams helped comb the

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city trying to find residents who were

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still at home and convince them to

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leave . Goodyear

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out there standing urine . Alright ,

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Never seen nothing like that . I got

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the locals keeping an eye out for all

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the thugs in the area . They're going

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to alert us on that too . We got the

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firefighters and than any other Ems

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personnel who know the area . You can

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find these people who need to get out

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of here . Once we get everybody on the

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same sheet music that we can better

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coordinate our efforts to get people

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here to these zones and evacuated by

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helicopter trying to evacuate . You

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need to get over to the playground ,

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They don't have television . They

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cannot uh they don't they can't hear

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what's going on and see what's going on .

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So we need to go in some of these

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pockets and tell them it's time to get

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up National Guard .

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Yes . Mhm . Come on , let's

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go out . You're in there . It's time to

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go . This part of it is frustrating

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knowing that there there are people in

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these apartments that won't come out

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and sooner or later the food is going

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to run out . The water is going to run

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out . Pestilence and disease is going

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to take over . How much food and water

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do you have ? Okay , How many how many

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months can you last ? Let's get your

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stuff to take one bag . Okay ? Can you

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log on one bag I saw you can take . Mhm .

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You can only take one bag . One bag ,

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one bag of person . So you get one each .

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Right ? Got to go brown . We need to

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get to that started pop , please . No .

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Right now . First mission

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uh came in and we saw a group of people

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on the ramp and we landed . And uh

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there's a just a kind of you kind of

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have to choke back the tears just

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seeing these people carrying all their

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belongings what they could in their

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hands in the bag . Well , we've been

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out here for five minutes . I thought

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it was seven I forgot with David War .

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We just got back from kuwait in

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february . And so uh help you know ,

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here in the US minutes feel better .

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Army . Lieutenant General Russel Honore ,

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the Commander of Joint Task Force

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Katrina called the hurricane the

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perfect military operation . It knocked

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out communications and knocked out

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power . It spread confusion in its wake .

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The storm had surprised in it . We had

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a model that said the storm was going

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to come here . The storm changed track .

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The storm came in with overwhelming

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force . The storm brought damage from

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wind and water . It first cut out

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transportation . It then hit us with a

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massive attack Of a 36 ft

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seas on the coast of Mississippi . And

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in the process that has a supporting

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attack on New Orleans . The national

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guardsmen who didn't live immediately

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on the coast who had evacuated

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themselves and their families . They

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too became victims . People around the

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world responded to the storm victims

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plight Canada and Mexico sent military

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relief teams . President George Bush

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visited multiple times . Secretary of

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Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Joint

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Chiefs of Staff . Chairman General

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Richard Myers inspected relief efforts ,

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Trashed up your ankles . People hurt

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injured wanting to leave the area .

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People are doing outstanding jobs from

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all the agencies trying to put it all

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together at its peak . The

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unprecedented military response

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involved more than 70,000 military men

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and women . Among the 21 Navy ships

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sent to the area to support relief

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operations was USS Iwo Jima , which

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docked in the city of New Orleans and

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became both the command post and a

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primary base for helicopter operations .

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We do maybe 324 , 500

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obstacle retire deployment . We've done

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3 to 400 office today

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now

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when you're on the street

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wet evening for

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so

14:24.540 --> 14:28.560
Within

14:28.560 --> 14:30.640
days the skies over New Orleans were

14:30.640 --> 14:32.696
filled with helicopters from all the

14:32.696 --> 14:34.840
military services . The Coast Guard

14:34.840 --> 14:37.390
alone would rescue more than 24,000

14:37.400 --> 14:40.810
people louis Armstrong International

14:40.820 --> 14:42.598
Airport in New Orleans became a

14:42.598 --> 14:45.110
makeshift medical center with military

14:45.110 --> 14:47.380
doctors caring for patients evacuated

14:47.390 --> 14:49.530
from civilian hospitals . We've seen

14:49.530 --> 14:51.641
everything from the death of patients

14:51.641 --> 14:53.700
to the birth of young kids ,

14:53.880 --> 14:57.030
overwhelming casualties coming in

14:57.280 --> 14:59.530
successful treatment , triage and

14:59.530 --> 15:02.730
transfer frustrations of things that

15:02.730 --> 15:04.700
you need not having . And then the

15:04.710 --> 15:06.932
exhilaration of having many , many more

15:06.932 --> 15:08.850
assets arriving and being able to

15:08.860 --> 15:11.190
address the situation . The Army Corps

15:11.190 --> 15:13.357
of Engineers focused on shoring up the

15:13.357 --> 15:15.190
breaks in the levees . The first

15:15.190 --> 15:17.301
essential step in draining water from

15:17.301 --> 15:19.360
the city throughout the devastated

15:19.360 --> 15:21.260
region . Military engineer and

15:21.260 --> 15:23.260
construction teams brought in heavy

15:23.260 --> 15:25.204
equipment and set to work clearing

15:25.204 --> 15:27.260
debris . I was south of the railroad

15:27.260 --> 15:29.410
tracks and it was the first thing I

15:29.410 --> 15:31.688
thought was it looked like the tsunami .

15:31.688 --> 15:33.521
The images that we saw on the tv

15:33.540 --> 15:36.390
Because everything about 200 , yards

15:36.390 --> 15:38.501
from the ocean , it's just all washed

15:38.501 --> 15:40.834
away and pushed up , piled up in debris .

15:40.834 --> 15:43.380
It's horrible . But the things are

15:43.380 --> 15:45.491
getting a lot better out there . Just

15:45.491 --> 15:47.380
in the last week , power is being

15:47.380 --> 15:49.602
restored and uh , no more lines waiting

15:49.602 --> 15:51.713
at the gas station instead of lines ,

15:51.713 --> 15:53.658
but people aren't waiting for food

15:53.658 --> 15:55.880
anymore . And we have , you know , 1000

15:55.880 --> 15:58.370
cbs out right now and probably eight

15:58.370 --> 16:00.660
different counties , six counties here

16:00.660 --> 16:03.420
in Mississippi , one in Alabama and uh

16:03.430 --> 16:05.541
one in Louisiana actually perished in

16:05.541 --> 16:07.350
Louisiana . We also have an air

16:07.350 --> 16:09.870
detachment in New Orleans um as well

16:09.870 --> 16:11.648
supporting . So we're out there

16:11.648 --> 16:13.910
touching base with municipalities and

16:13.920 --> 16:16.031
uh , knocking out their priorities on

16:16.031 --> 16:18.500
their list in conjunction with fema and

16:18.500 --> 16:20.611
other military organizations that are

16:20.611 --> 16:22.611
out there and we're making a lot of

16:22.611 --> 16:24.444
success . Be a number of schools

16:24.444 --> 16:26.389
they're able to open several weeks

16:26.389 --> 16:29.100
earlier because of our direct impact .

16:29.110 --> 16:32.280
We've also helped reestablish public

16:32.280 --> 16:34.820
infrastructure , sewage facilities ,

16:35.340 --> 16:37.400
waterlines , those types of things .

16:37.470 --> 16:39.770
Even though kessler Air Force Base in

16:39.770 --> 16:42.120
Mississippi suffered extensive damage ,

16:42.130 --> 16:44.352
it quickly became a focal point for the

16:44.352 --> 16:46.519
distribution of essential services and

16:46.519 --> 16:48.630
supplies to surrounding communities .

16:48.630 --> 16:51.720
My hospital is closed and my doctors

16:51.720 --> 16:53.831
want to be out here to let you know ,

16:53.831 --> 16:56.053
we swore an oath to do . That's our job

16:56.053 --> 16:58.160
and we're just happy to have the

16:58.160 --> 17:00.430
ability to get out there and work all

17:00.430 --> 17:02.430
this cargo is coming off planes and

17:02.430 --> 17:04.541
going into these trucks to go out and

17:04.541 --> 17:06.763
help the public . We are moving all the

17:06.763 --> 17:08.597
passengers around base , all the

17:08.597 --> 17:10.652
evacuees and also getting people off

17:10.652 --> 17:12.874
the base that need to get out . So it's

17:12.874 --> 17:15.097
a big effort and as quickly as possible

17:15.097 --> 17:16.986
they work to restore services for

17:16.986 --> 17:19.152
military families . We have people who

17:19.152 --> 17:21.270
have lost everything who have lost an

17:21.270 --> 17:23.270
additional source of income through

17:23.270 --> 17:25.270
their spouses . Um There's a lot of

17:25.270 --> 17:27.620
fear , there's a lot of rumors , a lot

17:27.620 --> 17:31.410
of uncertainty um a sense of urgency

17:31.410 --> 17:34.900
but yet it's

17:34.910 --> 17:37.600
still amazing to human spirit . Um

17:37.610 --> 17:39.554
There is nowhere I would rather be

17:39.554 --> 17:41.900
right than right here right now serving

17:41.900 --> 17:44.250
in this way . But full recovery was

17:44.260 --> 17:47.210
only beginning newly placed sandbags

17:47.210 --> 17:49.720
began holding back water in new Orleans

17:49.730 --> 17:51.952
and water began to be pumped out of the

17:51.952 --> 17:54.710
city . Military people continue to play

17:54.710 --> 17:56.766
a major role in restoring a sense of

17:56.766 --> 17:59.000
normalcy to the gulf region . We will

17:59.000 --> 18:01.222
not back off from this . We're going to

18:01.222 --> 18:03.333
go in and continue to help our fellow

18:03.333 --> 18:05.500
americans because that's our mission ,

18:05.500 --> 18:07.722
this is what we signed up for and we're

18:07.722 --> 18:09.889
gonna make it happen . The D . O . D .

18:09.889 --> 18:11.778
Forces have been critical of this

18:11.778 --> 18:11.700
response could not have done it without

18:11.700 --> 18:13.589
them . They bring for structure ,

18:13.589 --> 18:15.533
command and control capability and

18:15.533 --> 18:17.533
competencies that are critical at a

18:17.533 --> 18:19.422
time like this . And in regard to

18:19.422 --> 18:21.422
reaching out to local parishes . We

18:21.422 --> 18:23.478
know that in some cases we could not

18:23.478 --> 18:23.090
have got to those parishes ,

18:23.090 --> 18:25.160
established the disaster recovery

18:25.160 --> 18:27.216
centers have not , we had to support

18:27.216 --> 18:29.216
from D . O . D . Whether it was the

18:29.216 --> 18:31.327
marine corps down to the southeast of

18:31.327 --> 18:31.170
the 82nd Airborne and we know we

18:31.170 --> 18:33.448
ultimately need to relieve those D . O .

18:33.448 --> 18:35.503
D . Forces of the help they provided

18:35.503 --> 18:37.614
the parish president . So the role of

18:37.614 --> 18:39.670
the audience in this whole event has

18:39.670 --> 18:41.559
been a key and their efforts been

18:41.559 --> 18:44.660
remarkable coming up next on recon ,

18:45.040 --> 18:47.620
the Air Force unit that goes eye to eye

18:47.630 --> 18:50.260
with mother nature .

19:05.740 --> 19:08.050
Yeah , right .

19:11.340 --> 19:14.900
Hurricane season 2005 on this September

19:14.900 --> 19:16.900
Day , a view from the international

19:16.900 --> 19:19.260
space station as it passes over Florida ,

19:19.640 --> 19:22.200
Hurricane Ophelia spirals closer to the

19:22.200 --> 19:24.890
Carolinas . It's becoming a category

19:24.890 --> 19:27.060
one hurricane on the saffir Simpson

19:27.060 --> 19:29.460
scale with winds about half as strong

19:29.460 --> 19:32.100
as those brought by Katrina . But any

19:32.100 --> 19:34.090
hurricane is a big , strong ,

19:34.090 --> 19:36.120
potentially dangerous storm .

19:40.340 --> 19:42.360
This team of hurricane hunters ,

19:42.370 --> 19:44.370
members of the Air Force Reserves ,

19:44.370 --> 19:46.426
53rd Weather reconnaissance squadron

19:46.426 --> 19:48.810
are headed for the Eye of Ophelia to

19:48.810 --> 19:51.260
gather data essential for forecasters .

19:51.640 --> 19:53.862
When a hurricane is approaching the U .

19:53.862 --> 19:56.050
S . Mainland hurricane hunter plane

19:56.050 --> 19:58.370
will fly through its i every three

19:58.370 --> 20:00.400
hours . Our job is to hunt the

20:00.400 --> 20:04.190
hurricane and track it and to get data

20:04.190 --> 20:06.240
as far as wind speed , pressure

20:06.240 --> 20:08.520
temperature movement of the storm

20:08.520 --> 20:10.576
direction of movement as well as the

20:10.576 --> 20:12.798
speed of the movement . And we transmit

20:12.798 --> 20:14.520
that data back to the National

20:14.520 --> 20:16.742
Hurricane Center in Miami First we came

20:16.742 --> 20:19.020
in from the southwest to the northeast .

20:19.020 --> 20:21.076
We jogged over as far as we could to

20:21.076 --> 20:23.370
the coast of north Carolina and then

20:23.380 --> 20:25.602
came back down through the center for a

20:25.602 --> 20:28.260
second . That gave us a movement of uh

20:28.740 --> 20:31.060
3 45 at nine And now we know that it's

20:31.070 --> 20:33.237
moving to the north northwest and nine

20:33.237 --> 20:35.237
knots . This nine hour mission will

20:35.237 --> 20:37.330
make multiple passes through Ophelia

20:37.340 --> 20:39.980
flying into and out of the eye in an X

20:39.980 --> 20:42.250
shaped pattern . Key measurements are

20:42.250 --> 20:44.540
taken on each pass by biodegradable

20:44.540 --> 20:46.700
devices called dropsondes , which are

20:46.700 --> 20:49.100
dropped from the aircraft in a few

20:49.100 --> 20:51.840
seconds of parachute opens and deploy

20:52.210 --> 20:55.110
profile in a vertical position to the

20:55.120 --> 20:57.790
surface of the water . The water is

20:57.790 --> 20:59.950
over is standing on the life span is

20:59.960 --> 21:02.110
from the airplanes of the water . And

21:02.110 --> 21:04.950
as it falls through the atmosphere , it

21:04.950 --> 21:07.320
senses the temperature of the pressure

21:07.320 --> 21:10.130
of the humidity and the GPS module

21:10.130 --> 21:12.360
inside is a wind direction wind speed .

21:12.370 --> 21:15.140
So it gives the five elements of data

21:15.140 --> 21:17.560
every half second as if all that

21:17.560 --> 21:19.860
information is processed on the plane

21:19.860 --> 21:21.971
and transmitted within minutes to the

21:21.971 --> 21:24.140
National Hurricane Center in Miami .

21:24.390 --> 21:26.612
They give it to the media . So when you

21:26.612 --> 21:28.779
hear hurricane Ophelia is moving north

21:28.779 --> 21:30.668
northwest at 15 knots and central

21:30.668 --> 21:32.723
pressures , 983 millimeters . That's

21:32.723 --> 21:34.779
really giving it to them so they can

21:34.779 --> 21:37.440
pass it to the media . And that's also

21:37.440 --> 21:39.496
how fema and all the other emergency

21:39.496 --> 21:41.607
responders get that information . Get

21:41.607 --> 21:43.718
away , get it real time . Yeah , just

21:43.718 --> 21:45.718
within seconds of when it happens ,

21:45.718 --> 21:47.884
Boxing off the satellite , jOHn Provan

21:47.884 --> 21:50.090
heads a team of Air Force civilians at

21:50.090 --> 21:52.130
the National Hurricane Center . The

21:52.130 --> 21:54.940
offices called car ca for chief aerial

21:54.940 --> 21:57.530
reconnaissance , all hurricanes . The

21:57.530 --> 21:59.760
bone spent 18 years as an Air Force

21:59.760 --> 22:02.160
meteorologist flying weather recon

22:02.160 --> 22:04.400
missions . When your inexperience ,

22:04.400 --> 22:06.622
there's always a little bit of a terror

22:06.622 --> 22:08.678
factor . You don't know what you get

22:08.678 --> 22:10.289
into but after you get a few

22:10.289 --> 22:12.289
penetrations under your belt , it's

22:12.289 --> 22:14.178
just literally another day at the

22:14.178 --> 22:15.900
office , Pavan coordinates the

22:15.900 --> 22:18.122
Hurricane Hunter flights throughout the

22:18.122 --> 22:20.122
june 1st to november 30th hurricane

22:20.122 --> 22:22.910
season . He understands how crucial the

22:22.910 --> 22:24.970
data they gather can be to National

22:24.970 --> 22:27.530
Hurricane Center forecasters . Even in

22:27.530 --> 22:29.660
the age of sophisticated satellite

22:29.670 --> 22:32.090
imagery . What the satellite does is

22:32.100 --> 22:34.211
estimate what's going on in the storm

22:34.640 --> 22:37.410
as opposed to a measurement . If you

22:37.410 --> 22:39.560
start your forecast with a known

22:40.240 --> 22:42.296
quantity , you're always going to do

22:42.296 --> 22:44.462
better than if you're guessing at what

22:44.462 --> 22:46.684
you're starting with , what we're going

22:46.684 --> 22:48.740
to look for next time the plane goes

22:48.740 --> 22:48.720
through the storm and about another

22:48.720 --> 22:50.831
hour , hour and a half is whether the

22:50.831 --> 22:52.664
winds have come up . Whether the

22:52.664 --> 22:54.831
pressures come back up to match better

22:54.831 --> 22:56.831
with those winds . Hurricane Center

22:56.831 --> 22:58.998
Deputy Director Ed Rappaport uses that

22:58.998 --> 23:01.220
information to provide up to the minute

23:01.220 --> 23:03.220
storm information on the air for tv

23:03.220 --> 23:05.331
stations and networks . The hurricane

23:05.331 --> 23:07.553
hunters are absolutely essential to the

23:07.553 --> 23:09.890
work that we do here . While satellites

23:09.890 --> 23:13.040
provide us a great means of monitoring .

23:13.200 --> 23:16.620
They do so from afar remotely many ,

23:16.620 --> 23:19.340
many miles away from the storm . But

23:19.350 --> 23:21.294
the aircraft when it flies through

23:21.294 --> 23:23.406
gives us ground truth . If you will ,

23:23.406 --> 23:25.350
you know , they're at flight level

23:25.350 --> 23:27.461
what's really going on in a hurricane

23:27.461 --> 23:30.450
in particular where it's centered , how

23:30.450 --> 23:32.617
strong it is and what the structure of

23:32.617 --> 23:36.490
the storm is . The first flight

23:36.490 --> 23:38.750
into a hurricane was made by an army

23:38.750 --> 23:41.110
airport pilot near the end of World War

23:41.110 --> 23:44.660
Two on a dare . After the war , weather

23:44.660 --> 23:46.882
reconnaissance flights quickly became a

23:46.882 --> 23:49.049
staple of the new service branch . The

23:49.049 --> 23:51.160
Air Force and a Hurricane hunter unit

23:51.160 --> 23:53.480
was soon created . They've been flying

23:53.480 --> 23:55.900
C130s and working with the National

23:55.900 --> 23:58.350
Weather Service for more than 40 years

23:58.700 --> 24:01.250
and have never lost a plane flying into

24:01.250 --> 24:04.100
a hurricane This year . They're flying

24:04.100 --> 24:06.930
the new C130J with stronger engines and

24:06.930 --> 24:09.260
advanced electronics , whatever the

24:09.260 --> 24:11.260
equipment crews say , flying into a

24:11.260 --> 24:13.316
hurricane can be just another day at

24:13.316 --> 24:16.820
the office or a unique experience most

24:16.820 --> 24:18.876
of time . It's just like being a big

24:18.876 --> 24:20.764
car wash . The rain's coming down

24:20.764 --> 24:23.160
steady rain and beating down on us and

24:23.170 --> 24:26.090
really can be real loud at times , so

24:26.090 --> 24:28.220
heavy rain and then all of a sudden

24:28.230 --> 24:30.520
sometimes you'll see lightning and a

24:30.530 --> 24:34.400
lot of bumps and at times it feels like

24:34.400 --> 24:36.456
a little roller coaster going up and

24:36.456 --> 24:39.070
down and the turbulence and has to get

24:39.080 --> 24:41.910
close to the eye wall and that ride can

24:41.910 --> 24:44.260
make work challenging . I would like to

24:44.260 --> 24:46.730
tell you that if you got into say the

24:46.730 --> 24:48.730
back of a pickup truck and put your

24:48.730 --> 24:51.850
laptop on your lap . Um writing in a

24:51.850 --> 24:54.090
rocketeer down a dirt road in

24:54.090 --> 24:56.740
Mississippi . That's about try to type

24:56.740 --> 24:59.040
a letter to mom on that . Uh , on

24:59.040 --> 25:01.380
occasion it gets real tough . You know ,

25:01.380 --> 25:03.436
I don't think , I don't think anyone

25:03.436 --> 25:05.602
can fly through the eye of a hurricane

25:06.060 --> 25:09.980
and not feel like a speck of sand on

25:09.980 --> 25:12.720
this earth because of the massiveness

25:13.140 --> 25:16.120
And the magnitude of looking at this

25:16.120 --> 25:18.231
huge wall of clouds , like sitting on

25:18.231 --> 25:20.398
the 50 yard line of a football stadium

25:20.398 --> 25:22.509
looking up um , to fly through . That

25:22.509 --> 25:24.910
is all inspiring . Uh , and it's uh , I

25:24.920 --> 25:27.142
think that's one of the most incredible

25:27.142 --> 25:29.253
experiences to see winds at 200 miles

25:29.253 --> 25:31.620
an hour down to nothing in a matter of

25:31.620 --> 25:34.080
five minutes . The real experts are the

25:34.080 --> 25:36.191
crew that fly on the aircraft because

25:36.191 --> 25:39.650
they fly through hurricanes many times

25:39.650 --> 25:42.040
an experience , much more than those of

25:42.040 --> 25:44.040
us down here on the ground and know

25:44.040 --> 25:45.818
what it's like . And we're very

25:45.818 --> 25:47.929
grateful to them because what they do

25:47.929 --> 25:49.873
not only provides us with critical

25:49.873 --> 25:52.210
information . Uh , but it is a risky

25:52.220 --> 25:54.990
endeavor and we appreciate very much

25:54.990 --> 25:57.157
their , their hard work and dedication

25:57.157 --> 26:00.620
96 hour forecast in daily conference

26:00.620 --> 26:02.731
calls . The hurricane center provides

26:02.731 --> 26:04.398
current forecasts and weather

26:04.398 --> 26:06.231
information to a wide variety of

26:06.231 --> 26:08.690
clients , including military weather

26:08.690 --> 26:10.720
offices , like the Navy's maritime

26:10.720 --> 26:13.340
forecast activity in Norfolk Virginia

26:13.870 --> 26:17.270
potentially While the hurricane center

26:17.270 --> 26:19.326
is concerned about storms that could

26:19.326 --> 26:21.520
make landfall in the U . S . The Navy

26:21.520 --> 26:23.631
wants to know about whether affecting

26:23.631 --> 26:25.880
both military bases on land and the

26:25.880 --> 26:28.380
ships at sea . This office is

26:28.380 --> 26:30.602
responsible for naval weather forecasts

26:30.602 --> 26:33.330
from texas to new york shifts that are

26:33.330 --> 26:35.552
out operating at sea . We provide daily

26:35.552 --> 26:38.320
weather forecast for those units . If

26:38.320 --> 26:40.098
they're going to be impacted by

26:40.098 --> 26:42.320
significant weather like a winter storm

26:42.320 --> 26:44.610
or a tropical storm will provide a

26:44.620 --> 26:46.676
efficient and safe route around that

26:46.676 --> 26:48.890
weather . If the forecast predicts

26:48.890 --> 26:51.180
winds of more than 50 knots in Norfolk ,

26:51.190 --> 26:53.300
the fleet has to be sorted , meaning

26:53.310 --> 26:55.830
moved out of ports and into open water

26:56.240 --> 26:58.240
That happened during the advance of

26:58.240 --> 27:01.590
Hurricane Isabel . In 2003 , Navy ships

27:01.590 --> 27:04.070
need to begin preparing to leave Port

27:04.070 --> 27:06.870
96 hours before a storm hits . With a

27:06.870 --> 27:09.230
decision to actually get underway made

27:09.230 --> 27:11.890
much closer to landfall . If we are

27:11.890 --> 27:14.240
going to sortie , We want to get the

27:14.240 --> 27:16.462
ships out prior to the onset of 12-foot

27:16.462 --> 27:19.390
seas , that's not always possible . And

27:19.390 --> 27:21.446
it takes the better part of a day to

27:21.446 --> 27:23.668
get . There is a lot of ships import to

27:23.668 --> 27:25.501
get them all out . But we , it's

27:25.501 --> 27:27.723
certainly better than having a bunch of

27:27.723 --> 27:29.900
ships sitting pier side and taking 100

27:29.900 --> 27:32.011
knot winds and just getting beat up .

27:32.040 --> 27:34.710
But it isn't necessarily an easy ride

27:34.710 --> 27:38.270
at sea when a hurricane passes . I was

27:38.840 --> 27:40.840
250 nautical miles off the coast of

27:40.840 --> 27:43.060
Carolina's on the USS Moose Burger d .

27:43.060 --> 27:46.210
d . nine NATO . We took a 43 degree

27:46.210 --> 27:48.266
role that night , we were in 20-foot

27:48.266 --> 27:51.140
seas , 70 knots of wind , Much smaller

27:51.140 --> 27:53.307
ship than a carrier . The ship sits on

27:53.307 --> 27:56.670
the ocean . This is 90 , is about there

27:57.040 --> 28:00.060
At 45 . The ship starts to capsize .

28:00.440 --> 28:03.010
Don't take hurricane season lately . If

28:03.010 --> 28:05.177
you live along the eastern seaboard of

28:05.177 --> 28:07.343
the gulf coast , we've seen a dramatic

28:07.343 --> 28:10.920
increase over the past uh several years

28:10.920 --> 28:13.210
here . One of my other previous studio

28:13.210 --> 28:14.988
stations was new Orleans and we

28:14.988 --> 28:16.877
actually evacuated when hurricane

28:16.877 --> 28:20.490
George came through . So I really tend

28:20.490 --> 28:22.712
to take this job a lot more seriously .

28:22.712 --> 28:25.060
Um Well often hedge on the side of

28:25.060 --> 28:27.116
caution just to make sure people are

28:27.116 --> 28:29.338
aware . I'd rather have people ready to

28:29.338 --> 28:31.900
move and not have to move than to have

28:31.910 --> 28:33.966
people going , well , maybe it's not

28:33.966 --> 28:36.132
going to hit us and all of a sudden it

28:36.132 --> 28:38.132
decides to change its mind and come

28:38.132 --> 28:40.077
into town . Even though Norfolk is

28:40.077 --> 28:42.077
seldom hit with the full force of a

28:42.077 --> 28:43.910
hurricane , that doesn't mean it

28:43.910 --> 28:46.550
escapes major impact . In 2003 ,

28:46.550 --> 28:48.940
Hurricane Isabel made landfall in North

28:48.940 --> 28:51.770
Carolina still packing enough punch to

28:51.770 --> 28:54.560
cause considerable damage in Norfolk .

28:55.840 --> 28:59.270
Mhm . Tropical storm Katrina barely

28:59.270 --> 29:01.437
gained hurricane strength when it made

29:01.437 --> 29:04.230
its first landfall north of Miami . No

29:04.230 --> 29:06.063
one yet knew it would become the

29:06.063 --> 29:08.340
monstrous storm it would grow into once

29:08.340 --> 29:10.562
it got over the warm waters of the gulf

29:10.562 --> 29:13.500
of Mexico forecasters make it clear ,

29:13.510 --> 29:16.870
hurricanes are complex systems and they

29:16.880 --> 29:19.610
all hold surprises . The first

29:19.610 --> 29:21.777
aftereffect of Katrina on the american

29:21.777 --> 29:24.410
mainland was high water and not enough

29:24.410 --> 29:26.299
of it to require florida National

29:26.299 --> 29:28.690
guardsmen to be on the streets . Only a

29:28.690 --> 29:30.801
handful of them wound up being called

29:30.801 --> 29:33.420
to duty . But only three days later ,

29:33.510 --> 29:35.760
Katrina would make a second landfall

29:35.860 --> 29:37.804
and gain the full attention of the

29:37.804 --> 29:40.430
nation , requiring a massive response

29:40.430 --> 29:43.320
from the Department of Defense . Just

29:43.320 --> 29:45.860
ahead on recon , what does it take to

29:45.870 --> 29:48.170
rebuild after a devastating hurricane ?

29:48.540 --> 29:50.373
Well look at a base that's still

29:50.373 --> 29:52.980
recovering from a storm in 2004

30:02.940 --> 30:04.940
cleanup and rebuilding in this area

30:04.940 --> 30:06.860
will probably take many years . A

30:06.860 --> 30:08.749
lesson in how time consuming that

30:08.749 --> 30:10.804
process may be can be taken from the

30:10.804 --> 30:13.220
naval air station in Pensacola florida

30:13.310 --> 30:15.477
that was in the path of Hurricane Ivan

30:15.477 --> 30:19.130
last year . Ivan like

30:19.130 --> 30:21.440
Katrina , a category four hurricane

30:21.450 --> 30:23.610
made landfall about 10 miles to the

30:23.620 --> 30:26.480
east on september 16th 2000 and four .

30:26.880 --> 30:28.658
The eye wall , the dense clouds

30:28.658 --> 30:30.658
surrounding the Eye , which has the

30:30.658 --> 30:32.658
highest velocity winds of the storm

30:32.658 --> 30:35.590
passed directly over the base . If you

30:35.590 --> 30:37.701
can see the entire roof was blown off

30:37.701 --> 30:41.620
the building plus up to 89 ft

30:41.620 --> 30:43.620
of a title search that came in from

30:43.620 --> 30:45.787
across the lane and flooded the ground

30:45.787 --> 30:47.898
floor . So it was uh , building was a

30:47.898 --> 30:50.780
complete loss across up to 50,000 trees

30:50.790 --> 30:53.290
during the storm , you can see the

30:53.300 --> 30:55.350
where the ridge begins to go up to

30:55.350 --> 30:58.220
those homes . Up on the hill , uh the

30:58.230 --> 31:00.170
tide line and the debris line was

31:00.170 --> 31:03.090
halfway up the hill . We topped up that

31:03.090 --> 31:05.210
morning . This was a lake , This was

31:05.210 --> 31:08.620
all uh standing water down . The other

31:08.620 --> 31:10.787
thing we had to be careful though were

31:11.240 --> 31:14.020
Snakes . We had

31:14.030 --> 31:17.970
uh count last count . I know

31:17.980 --> 31:20.600
uh there were over 600

31:21.540 --> 31:24.300
poisonous snakes that were killed

31:24.310 --> 31:26.088
during the time while they were

31:26.088 --> 31:28.390
cleaning the debris of Commander bo

31:28.390 --> 31:30.668
Stewart rode out the storm in the base .

31:30.668 --> 31:32.900
Emergency operation Center . As

31:32.900 --> 31:35.067
daylight broke and the winds were down

31:35.067 --> 31:36.956
to a safe level of Ceo . Made the

31:36.956 --> 31:39.067
decision to go ahead and see what the

31:39.067 --> 31:41.178
damage was . Uh as we came out of the

31:41.178 --> 31:43.400
building , the first thing we had to do

31:43.400 --> 31:45.456
was cut our way out of the firehouse

31:45.456 --> 31:47.456
because trees were down where we're

31:47.456 --> 31:49.567
standing . There were pine trees down

31:49.567 --> 31:51.622
across the road all the way out plus

31:51.622 --> 31:53.844
power lines down . We weren't sure what

31:53.844 --> 31:55.789
the power situation was . It's the

31:55.789 --> 31:57.956
worst thing that I have experienced in

31:57.956 --> 32:00.178
my life , I assisted in escambia County

32:00.178 --> 32:02.178
Sheriff's Department after erin and

32:02.178 --> 32:04.720
Opal over Pensacola Beach . And unless

32:04.720 --> 32:06.831
you do experience at first hand , you

32:06.831 --> 32:10.830
see it pictures don't have , they don't

32:10.830 --> 32:13.052
even come close to what the devastation

32:13.052 --> 32:15.490
actually is . There's been an american

32:15.490 --> 32:17.712
naval base here since , well before the

32:17.712 --> 32:20.400
civil war today . It's home to the Blue

32:20.400 --> 32:22.930
Angels aerobatics team and a training

32:22.930 --> 32:25.900
base a year after Ivan . The storms ,

32:25.900 --> 32:28.280
destructive power is still evident

32:28.290 --> 32:31.070
throughout the base Captains Row where

32:31.070 --> 32:33.230
senior officers traditionally lived ,

32:33.240 --> 32:35.770
remains uninhabited . A ghost town .

32:35.900 --> 32:38.940
High watermark is still clearly visible

32:38.950 --> 32:41.006
inside what was the base Commander's

32:41.006 --> 32:42.894
house . We have two of the oldest

32:42.894 --> 32:45.230
hangers in the navy . They're here

32:45.230 --> 32:47.930
building 73 74 . And if you look to the

32:47.930 --> 32:49.874
south here , you can see this ramp

32:49.874 --> 32:53.010
where the aviation naval aviation got

32:53.010 --> 32:55.630
started right here and uh see planes

32:55.630 --> 32:57.980
were landing in that bay , Pensacola

32:57.980 --> 33:00.147
Bay right here and coming ashore . And

33:00.147 --> 33:02.480
that's where it all got started in 1914 .

33:02.480 --> 33:04.702
So rich history and it's worth saving .

33:04.702 --> 33:06.924
It's worth recovering from . And that's

33:06.924 --> 33:09.147
what we're doing . The estimate that we

33:09.147 --> 33:09.110
initially provided a couple days after

33:09.110 --> 33:11.060
the hurricane was 530 million in

33:11.060 --> 33:13.590
facilities damaged . Commander Ron

33:13.590 --> 33:15.812
Crump's is directing the demolition and

33:15.812 --> 33:18.740
reconstruction with so much damage .

33:18.750 --> 33:21.000
Just negotiating the contracts is a

33:21.000 --> 33:23.590
time consuming process . It takes time

33:23.590 --> 33:25.701
to develop the contracts . We have to

33:25.701 --> 33:28.050
put together specifications that can be

33:28.050 --> 33:30.280
bid on by contractors . And there's a

33:30.280 --> 33:32.630
lot of work up front in interface with

33:32.630 --> 33:34.519
the contractors to make sure they

33:34.519 --> 33:36.570
understand the work and then we

33:36.570 --> 33:38.990
evaluate their proposals and get the

33:38.990 --> 33:41.268
work contract and get the work awarded .

33:41.440 --> 33:43.820
Commander Crump says the process will

33:43.820 --> 33:46.970
be going on for another year and a half .

33:46.980 --> 33:48.830
We're on track well underway to

33:48.880 --> 33:51.102
repairing all the facilities were going

33:51.102 --> 33:53.269
to have enough funds to repair all the

33:53.269 --> 33:55.436
facilities and we're going to demolish

33:55.436 --> 33:57.602
some of the facilities that are excess

33:57.602 --> 33:59.713
footprint . Ivan's footprint is still

33:59.713 --> 34:01.658
evident off base pieces of private

34:01.660 --> 34:03.900
homes miles from the naval air station

34:03.900 --> 34:06.550
wound up there for many military people

34:06.550 --> 34:08.790
and civilians alike . The memory of

34:08.790 --> 34:11.520
that night remains vivid . The first

34:11.520 --> 34:13.700
time that the wind gusts shook our

34:13.710 --> 34:16.560
three story building , I got scared

34:17.740 --> 34:20.010
and then the next two times it was old

34:20.010 --> 34:22.177
hat I guess because I figured if I was

34:22.177 --> 34:24.454
gonna go I'm gonna go it didn't matter .

34:24.454 --> 34:26.510
We lost power about eight o'clock at

34:26.510 --> 34:28.840
night and uh it sounded like a 7 47 on

34:28.840 --> 34:30.673
top of the house the whole night

34:30.673 --> 34:33.210
through and we had several major

34:33.220 --> 34:35.470
tornadoes go back behind the house and

34:35.470 --> 34:37.692
you could hear them falling and ripping

34:37.692 --> 34:39.748
and tearing out the trees . The wind

34:39.748 --> 34:42.026
was so strong it was so fierce it does .

34:42.026 --> 34:44.081
And well where I live in Gonzales we

34:44.081 --> 34:46.081
have twister come through so you've

34:46.081 --> 34:48.192
always heard it sounds like a train .

34:48.192 --> 34:51.030
Well it sounded like a train and like I

34:51.030 --> 34:53.197
say it sounded like an elephant on our

34:53.197 --> 34:54.974
roof because it was ripping the

34:54.974 --> 34:57.086
shingles and tar paper off and I mean

34:57.086 --> 34:59.197
it was loud , it was very loud , very

34:59.197 --> 35:01.308
loud and we have a brick home and our

35:01.308 --> 35:03.474
roof wasn't even but about eight years

35:03.474 --> 35:05.930
old but guess what ? It got gone . It

35:05.930 --> 35:08.097
sounded like a train . I mean it was ,

35:08.097 --> 35:10.208
it was very loud . You can hear a lot

35:10.208 --> 35:12.486
of the transformers blowing up outside ,

35:12.486 --> 35:15.120
a lot of wind naturally . Uh couldn't

35:15.120 --> 35:16.953
see every once in a while in the

35:16.953 --> 35:19.009
lightning some of the trees would be

35:19.009 --> 35:20.953
swaying real good . And then I was

35:20.953 --> 35:23.176
saying start snapping . It was , it was

35:23.176 --> 35:25.660
intense . Sergeant Adams and other

35:25.660 --> 35:27.950
National Guard soldiers from Pensacola

35:27.960 --> 35:30.016
rode out the night in their armory .

35:30.140 --> 35:32.450
The building suffered damage that still

35:32.450 --> 35:34.810
hasn't been repaired , but there were

35:34.810 --> 35:37.250
guardsmen on patrol as soon as Ivan

35:37.250 --> 35:40.560
passed , National Guard were

35:41.040 --> 35:43.310
first on the scene and they're heroes

35:43.310 --> 35:45.477
to everybody that lives in Pensacola .

35:45.740 --> 35:48.820
The unit that we had in particular was

35:48.820 --> 35:50.860
charged with traffic control in our

35:50.860 --> 35:54.440
area . And literally there are

35:54.450 --> 35:56.850
two or 3000 traffic lights that are not

35:56.860 --> 35:59.760
operating for months after hurricane

35:59.760 --> 36:01.927
either . The National Guard was on the

36:01.927 --> 36:04.790
scene directing traffic helping people

36:04.790 --> 36:07.180
that were very frustrated . They were

36:07.180 --> 36:09.780
doing everything , they were directing

36:09.780 --> 36:11.947
traffic , they were passing out food ,

36:11.947 --> 36:14.058
they were given out ice . They were I

36:14.058 --> 36:16.169
mean you name it , they were on every

36:16.169 --> 36:18.058
street corner everywhere you turn

36:18.058 --> 36:20.113
around , you can see just truckloads

36:20.113 --> 36:22.002
and truckloads coming in . It was

36:22.002 --> 36:23.780
awesome . Very good . Very good

36:23.780 --> 36:25.950
response where we lived . Looks like a

36:25.960 --> 36:28.760
war zone . I mean it was terrible . It

36:28.760 --> 36:30.982
was just terrible . So many trees , you

36:30.982 --> 36:33.038
couldn't even pass out to get out of

36:33.038 --> 36:34.871
our neighborhood . The they were

36:34.871 --> 36:37.038
directly out there passing out the M .

36:37.038 --> 36:39.260
R . E . S . As they come to M . R . E .

36:39.260 --> 36:41.371
Foods and the ice and all that . They

36:41.371 --> 36:43.593
were over one of the high schools right

36:43.593 --> 36:45.704
near us . They were issuing out water

36:45.704 --> 36:47.927
as well as ice . They were also manning

36:47.927 --> 36:49.982
all the major roadways as far as the

36:49.982 --> 36:49.800
lights . We had a problem with

36:49.800 --> 36:52.190
electricity being out for many days and

36:52.190 --> 36:54.134
they were a wonderful asset to the

36:54.134 --> 36:56.950
community as well . The summer of 2004

36:56.950 --> 36:58.728
was challenging for the Florida

36:58.728 --> 37:00.894
National Guard . The state hadn't been

37:00.894 --> 37:03.010
hit by a land falling hurricane since

37:03.010 --> 37:06.850
1999 . Then in the span of six weeks in

37:06.850 --> 37:10.760
2004 came for hurricanes and 1/5 out in

37:10.760 --> 37:12.593
the Caribbean that brought heavy

37:12.593 --> 37:15.330
weather . About 2000 florida guardsmen

37:15.330 --> 37:17.840
were on federal column deployed to Iraq .

37:18.200 --> 37:19.978
The Floridians weren't short of

37:19.978 --> 37:22.330
manpower but they did need equipment .

37:22.690 --> 37:24.690
They made it through with a loan of

37:24.690 --> 37:26.579
Black hawk helicopters from their

37:26.579 --> 37:28.746
National Guard colleagues in Georgia ,

37:28.746 --> 37:30.357
Mississippi pennsylvania and

37:30.357 --> 37:32.357
Connecticut Last year was hopefully

37:32.357 --> 37:34.079
very unique . We did about 4.5

37:34.079 --> 37:35.912
hurricanes and there hasn't been

37:35.912 --> 37:37.912
another state have been hit by four

37:37.912 --> 37:39.990
major hurricanes since Texas in 1886

37:40.000 --> 37:42.320
and we hope uh , someone else doesn't

37:42.320 --> 37:44.264
have to do that for another 100 20

37:44.264 --> 37:47.040
years . We've had about 10,000 soldier

37:47.040 --> 37:49.207
force here in florida and florida Army

37:49.207 --> 37:51.373
National Guard about 7000 of them have

37:51.373 --> 37:53.596
been mobilized federally since 9 11 for

37:53.596 --> 37:56.350
various missions uh , here in florida

37:56.360 --> 37:58.430
regarding the airports . We've had a

37:58.430 --> 38:00.541
homeland defense missions here in the

38:00.541 --> 38:02.430
United States . We've had part of

38:02.430 --> 38:04.560
operation enduring Freedom Operation

38:04.560 --> 38:06.782
Iraqi freedom . We've been in uh , some

38:06.782 --> 38:09.004
contingency missions in Bosnia Kosovo .

38:09.004 --> 38:11.060
So we have that mission . The unique

38:11.060 --> 38:13.060
part of what we have though were we

38:13.060 --> 38:14.893
have a separate mission to state

38:14.893 --> 38:16.838
mission and that is to support the

38:16.838 --> 38:18.893
state of florida in times of natural

38:18.893 --> 38:18.460
disaster . Whenever the governor

38:18.470 --> 38:21.560
requires us , even though it had been

38:21.560 --> 38:23.727
five years since the hurricane hit the

38:23.727 --> 38:25.671
state , the florida National Guard

38:25.671 --> 38:27.780
trains hard for disaster relief ,

38:27.980 --> 38:30.360
lessons learned from hurricane Andrew .

38:30.370 --> 38:32.426
Until this year , the highest damage

38:32.426 --> 38:34.648
cost storm in U . S . History have been

38:34.648 --> 38:37.320
applied and refined . The president's

38:37.320 --> 38:39.542
mission . We call right after a storm ,

38:39.542 --> 38:41.376
which is to to tell the citizens

38:41.376 --> 38:43.542
everything's fine . We'll , you know ,

38:43.542 --> 38:43.540
we'll recover from this . We've done

38:43.540 --> 38:45.680
this before and we have soldiers

38:45.690 --> 38:47.357
patrolling the streets almost

38:47.357 --> 38:50.320
immediately . We use 40 mph . Uh , as

38:50.320 --> 38:52.360
our benchmark to say anything , the

38:52.360 --> 38:55.080
winds dropped below 40 mph . We feel

38:55.080 --> 38:57.130
safe to let our soldiers in . Most

38:57.130 --> 38:59.690
cases patrol because 40 miles an hour

38:59.690 --> 39:01.746
generally is when bridges are closed

39:01.746 --> 39:03.912
here in florida and I joined the guard

39:03.912 --> 39:06.079
partly to help out with hurricanes and

39:06.079 --> 39:08.246
stuff like that . And for many years ,

39:08.246 --> 39:08.240
I say many years , four or five years

39:08.620 --> 39:10.787
there was , we didn't really do any of

39:10.787 --> 39:12.842
that . We went to Iraq come back and

39:12.842 --> 39:14.731
then we're helping out with every

39:14.731 --> 39:16.787
hurricane which I enjoyed a lot . It

39:16.787 --> 39:18.898
was , it was different going from the

39:18.898 --> 39:21.470
streets of Baghdad With uh M16s are on

39:21.470 --> 39:23.470
patrol or whatever to patrol on the

39:23.470 --> 39:25.581
streets of Pensacola . I enjoy what I

39:25.581 --> 39:27.860
do . Um on the civilian side I'm a

39:27.860 --> 39:31.720
firefighter and you know me doing this

39:31.730 --> 39:34.360
this this military thing has always

39:34.360 --> 39:36.680
been in my blood . I enjoy it . I love

39:36.680 --> 39:39.650
it . I've been accused of being a lifer

39:39.920 --> 39:43.810
guilty . Okay I'm guilty . I've got 26

39:43.810 --> 39:46.032
years of service now military service .

39:46.032 --> 39:48.254
I don't see myself slowing down anytime

39:48.254 --> 39:51.600
soon . Uh I just enjoy it . It's a lot

39:51.600 --> 39:54.080
of fun to me and I've always said today

39:54.080 --> 39:56.302
it stops being fun for the day I retire

39:56.302 --> 39:58.970
and go home . When hurricane Katrina

39:58.970 --> 40:01.026
hit . Some National Guard units from

40:01.026 --> 40:03.248
Louisiana and Mississippi were deployed

40:03.248 --> 40:06.040
to Iraq units from other states helped

40:06.040 --> 40:08.310
fill the void . Stateside as guardsmen

40:08.310 --> 40:10.143
stationed in Iraq watched from a

40:10.143 --> 40:12.310
distance and worried about their homes

40:12.310 --> 40:14.421
and families . I've spoken to my wife

40:14.421 --> 40:16.950
and family . She evacuated up to baton

40:16.950 --> 40:18.840
rouge then moved further north to

40:18.840 --> 40:21.180
Bastrop Louisiana . I contacted my

40:21.180 --> 40:23.347
sister and she confirmed that everyone

40:23.347 --> 40:25.402
has got out city pretty safe at this

40:25.402 --> 40:27.569
present moment surround unaware of the

40:27.569 --> 40:29.620
conditions of my house whenever

40:29.620 --> 40:31.810
possible . Individual guard and other

40:31.810 --> 40:34.032
service members from the affected areas

40:34.032 --> 40:36.410
were allowed to return stateside some

40:36.410 --> 40:38.980
on assignment some to address issues of

40:38.980 --> 40:42.080
home and family for most . The reality

40:42.080 --> 40:45.030
of the destruction came as a shock . I

40:45.030 --> 40:47.141
don't think any of us really knew the

40:47.141 --> 40:48.919
magnitude of it . Um tv doesn't

40:48.919 --> 40:51.150
accurately describe it . Sit reps don't

40:51.150 --> 40:53.261
accurately describe until you've seen

40:53.261 --> 40:54.928
it . You don't understand the

40:54.928 --> 40:57.094
catastrophic nature of everything that

40:57.094 --> 40:59.094
happened here . So pretty well knew

40:59.094 --> 41:01.206
that there was gonna be emergency And

41:01.206 --> 41:03.317
we turn around to get here as fast as

41:03.317 --> 41:05.206
we could when recon continues the

41:05.206 --> 41:07.590
shattered gulf coast faces another

41:07.600 --> 41:08.830
monster storm .

41:18.510 --> 41:19.510
Yeah .

41:23.110 --> 41:24.110
Yeah .

41:28.910 --> 41:29.910
Really

41:33.210 --> 41:35.860
by the third week of august much of the

41:35.870 --> 41:38.200
initial relief work so critical during

41:38.200 --> 41:40.367
the first days after Hurricane Katrina

41:40.367 --> 41:43.210
hit was no longer necessary . Main

41:43.210 --> 41:45.870
roads were open . Gas was again readily

41:45.870 --> 41:47.648
available . Communications were

41:47.648 --> 41:50.000
improving and power was slowly coming

41:50.000 --> 41:52.860
back online . But before people could

41:52.860 --> 41:55.280
really take stock a new threat loomed

41:55.280 --> 41:57.810
on the horizon . A threat by the name

41:57.810 --> 42:01.720
of rita , rita's

42:01.720 --> 42:03.690
first stop on U . S . Soil . The

42:03.690 --> 42:06.630
florida keys thankfully the expected

42:06.630 --> 42:08.920
damage didn't happen . The florida

42:08.920 --> 42:11.670
National Guard on standby just in case

42:11.680 --> 42:14.410
weren't even activated at that time .

42:14.420 --> 42:16.690
What rita would do next was the big

42:16.690 --> 42:18.810
question . Well , it's a little too

42:18.810 --> 42:20.977
early to be too specific because we're

42:20.977 --> 42:23.088
not sure but it's going to take about

42:23.088 --> 42:25.199
the next 3 to 4 days for rita to move

42:25.199 --> 42:27.170
across the gulf of Mexico and we

42:27.170 --> 42:29.114
anticipate strengthening and it is

42:29.114 --> 42:31.059
possible that really will become a

42:31.059 --> 42:33.281
major hurricane over the gulf of Mexico

42:33.281 --> 42:35.281
before reaching either the coast of

42:35.281 --> 42:37.448
northern Mexico texas or even possibly

42:37.448 --> 42:39.600
Louisiana . Regardless of what might

42:39.600 --> 42:41.800
happen . People all along the gulf

42:41.800 --> 42:44.650
coast took action using lessons learned

42:44.650 --> 42:46.710
in response to Katrina to help them

42:46.710 --> 42:48.890
plan for the possibility that another

42:48.890 --> 42:52.030
monster hurricane was on its way any

42:52.040 --> 42:54.220
further development . Early operations

42:54.220 --> 42:56.620
in areas facing the greatest danger as

42:56.620 --> 42:58.398
a result of rita focused on the

42:58.398 --> 43:01.090
evacuation of people . Those who could

43:01.090 --> 43:03.970
leave on their own did so in texas .

43:03.980 --> 43:06.147
More than a million people took to the

43:06.147 --> 43:08.770
roads . Meanwhile , those who couldn't

43:08.770 --> 43:10.992
leave on their own , Mostly patients in

43:10.992 --> 43:13.050
area hospitals were assisted by the

43:13.050 --> 43:15.320
military . This is the patient

43:15.320 --> 43:17.390
evacuation effort that took place in

43:17.390 --> 43:20.990
Beaumont texas . Meanwhile Rita ,

43:21.000 --> 43:23.410
now a category five hurricane with

43:23.410 --> 43:27.020
sustained winds of around 155 mph ,

43:27.030 --> 43:29.540
continued on her path toward the Texas

43:29.540 --> 43:32.530
Louisiana border , but she soon took a

43:32.530 --> 43:34.950
slight turn to the north , increasing

43:34.950 --> 43:36.894
the chances that new Orleans would

43:36.894 --> 43:39.900
again suffer . A new evacuation order

43:39.900 --> 43:42.067
was issued to the few who had returned

43:42.067 --> 43:44.570
to the city . There was simply no faith .

43:44.570 --> 43:46.626
The battered levee system would hold

43:46.900 --> 43:48.844
Lieutenant General Russel Honore .

43:48.844 --> 43:50.956
Commander of Military Operations . In

43:50.956 --> 43:53.470
response to Katrina offered help and a

43:53.470 --> 43:55.820
cautionary note . People who don't have

43:55.830 --> 43:57.886
transportation need transportation .

43:57.886 --> 43:59.997
We're gonna move them out , but we're

43:59.997 --> 44:02.219
not going back in the convention center

44:02.219 --> 44:05.810
or Superdome fitness on friday

44:05.810 --> 44:08.480
september 23rd rising water due to

44:08.480 --> 44:10.530
Hurricane Rita was again pouring

44:10.530 --> 44:12.530
through the patched industrial gate

44:12.530 --> 44:14.586
levy in new Orleans , hard hit ninth

44:14.586 --> 44:18.050
Ward and by midday water was again

44:18.060 --> 44:20.910
waist deep , luckily few people were

44:20.910 --> 44:24.750
home this time . Mhm . Then in

44:24.750 --> 44:26.860
the early hours of september 24th ,

44:26.870 --> 44:29.070
Hurricane Rita hit the coast right

44:29.070 --> 44:31.870
along the texas Louisiana state line .

44:32.120 --> 44:34.260
The category three storm with winds

44:34.260 --> 44:36.970
around 130 miles an hour , torrential

44:36.970 --> 44:39.330
rains and a powerful storm surge

44:39.340 --> 44:41.020
pounded coastal towns

44:43.790 --> 44:47.360
with the morning light came the first

44:47.360 --> 44:49.416
glimpse of the destruction Rita left

44:49.416 --> 44:52.680
behind . Although the overall level of

44:52.690 --> 44:55.090
devastation was less than people feared

44:55.460 --> 44:58.610
coastal areas did suffer . This is the

44:58.610 --> 45:00.570
destruction left behind in Cameron

45:00.570 --> 45:03.070
Louisiana . The 1st 3 miles in the

45:03.070 --> 45:05.200
Cameron , there's just very few

45:05.200 --> 45:07.422
buildings left standing . Everything is

45:07.890 --> 45:10.210
is basically wiped out . Other coastal

45:10.210 --> 45:11.970
towns suffered similar face ,

45:11.980 --> 45:14.600
particularly in southern Louisiana .

45:14.610 --> 45:18.150
Probably 80% of houses have trees in

45:18.150 --> 45:21.010
them or late late in the yards or

45:22.720 --> 45:25.730
search and rescue was the number one

45:25.730 --> 45:28.150
priority in the aftermath of the storm .

45:28.160 --> 45:29.882
He pulls people out and down .

45:29.990 --> 45:32.300
Fortunately , evacuation efforts in the

45:32.310 --> 45:34.360
days before rita hit were very

45:34.360 --> 45:36.790
successful . And compared to the days

45:36.790 --> 45:39.280
after Katrina , relatively few people

45:39.280 --> 45:42.440
needed rescue . Another top priority .

45:42.440 --> 45:44.662
In the first days after Rita was making

45:44.662 --> 45:46.718
sure hurricane victims had necessary

45:46.718 --> 45:49.290
supplies like food , water and ice .

45:49.550 --> 45:51.730
I'm just coming up highway one on 12

45:51.730 --> 45:53.841
and happened to see how over here and

45:53.841 --> 45:56.500
I'm sure glad to have you all here in

45:56.500 --> 45:58.667
the days and months ahead . There will

45:58.667 --> 46:00.778
be much discussion over what was done

46:00.778 --> 46:02.860
right and wrong in the wake of this

46:02.860 --> 46:05.830
season's hurricanes and the focus will

46:05.830 --> 46:07.663
certainly be on the aftermath of

46:07.663 --> 46:10.270
Hurricane Katrina , which in terms of

46:10.270 --> 46:12.670
loss of infrastructure was the

46:12.680 --> 46:15.130
costliest natural disaster in US

46:15.130 --> 46:17.910
history . But even as those discussions

46:17.910 --> 46:20.040
take place , hundreds of thousands of

46:20.040 --> 46:22.262
americans will be picking up the pieces

46:22.262 --> 46:25.110
of their lives and in many cases trying

46:25.110 --> 46:28.050
to sort out uncertain futures . Among

46:28.050 --> 46:30.217
them are thousands of military men and

46:30.217 --> 46:32.383
women who also called the Gulf coast .

46:32.383 --> 46:35.130
Home Lieutenant Commander scott Sanders

46:35.140 --> 46:37.740
is one . He was deployed in Iraq when

46:37.740 --> 46:40.300
Katrina made landfall one day later .

46:40.310 --> 46:41.977
He was back home in Gulf port

46:41.977 --> 46:44.060
Mississippi and coordinating navy

46:44.060 --> 46:46.570
construction crews known as CBS who

46:46.570 --> 46:48.570
were heavily involved with recovery

46:48.570 --> 46:50.970
efforts . He wasn't able to see his

46:50.970 --> 46:53.081
home in nearby long beach for several

46:53.081 --> 46:56.070
days . You couldn't uh , couldn't get

46:56.070 --> 46:58.181
in on that end because the rubble was

46:58.181 --> 47:00.403
filed to . It took him a couple of days

47:00.403 --> 47:02.292
to get some does is in and pushed

47:02.292 --> 47:04.390
through the rubble . I believe most

47:04.390 --> 47:07.260
everybody evacuated . I'm talking to a

47:07.270 --> 47:09.270
few of my neighbors . It seems like

47:09.270 --> 47:11.492
they all , they all got out of here and

47:11.492 --> 47:13.714
we don't know if anyone at that stage ,

47:13.714 --> 47:17.210
some of that stuff and there's his ours .

47:18.080 --> 47:20.191
Yeah , we definitely found stuff that

47:20.191 --> 47:24.190
was certainly are Way up there

47:24.200 --> 47:27.740
four or 5 houses up . So probably have

47:27.740 --> 47:29.907
to come back with some friends at some

47:29.907 --> 47:32.700
point and do more extensive search see

47:32.700 --> 47:34.700
if there's anything we could find ,

47:34.980 --> 47:36.980
there's been a lot of stories about

47:36.980 --> 47:39.410
looters and people picking through and

47:39.880 --> 47:42.740
no telling what they picked up or

47:42.750 --> 47:45.490
what's been looted . But it's this

47:45.490 --> 47:49.300
material stuff . Probably they probably

47:49.300 --> 47:51.410
needed it worse than we did . So

47:51.780 --> 47:55.670
oh , the wife might be

47:55.670 --> 47:58.910
excited about this .

48:03.770 --> 48:07.400
Yes . And how is our wedding

48:07.400 --> 48:09.000
set

48:13.270 --> 48:15.730
China ? My family lived in Wichita

48:15.730 --> 48:19.450
falls in 1979 when the large

48:19.460 --> 48:21.730
F5 tornado flattened our home . So this

48:21.730 --> 48:24.640
is the second time I've had a uh

48:24.650 --> 48:27.700
concrete slab for residents . Um , I

48:27.700 --> 48:30.200
was 10 at the time . You know ,

48:30.210 --> 48:33.850
tornadoes typically uh funnel on the

48:33.850 --> 48:35.930
ground . It is typically a lot a lot

48:35.940 --> 48:38.162
thinner you might have , it might maybe

48:38.162 --> 48:40.329
a mile wide for the large ones . We'll

48:40.329 --> 48:42.440
rip a strip through a city or through

48:42.440 --> 48:44.630
the land . It's a mile long and a mile

48:44.630 --> 48:47.800
wide and maybe 10 miles long . Um the

48:47.800 --> 48:49.744
unique thing about this particular

48:49.744 --> 48:51.910
hurricane as large as it was is that

48:51.910 --> 48:54.580
this strip of carnage like this , you

48:54.580 --> 48:57.490
know , exists for 150 miles from

48:57.490 --> 49:00.610
Alabama to New Orleans , quarter mile

49:00.610 --> 49:02.700
in . You see this kind of stuff and

49:02.700 --> 49:05.090
that's huge devastation .

49:07.870 --> 49:09.759
Every time I come down , I'm just

49:09.759 --> 49:13.280
amazed at the power the

49:13.280 --> 49:16.700
storm . Yeah ,

49:17.270 --> 49:18.500
unbelievable .

49:19.370 --> 49:22.900
The number of lives lost two

49:22.900 --> 49:25.330
hurricanes , Katrina and rita won't be

49:25.330 --> 49:27.880
known for months . It will take longer

49:27.880 --> 49:30.150
to add up property damage to homes and

49:30.150 --> 49:32.430
businesses . But for those who lived

49:32.440 --> 49:34.607
through the hurricanes and the service

49:34.607 --> 49:36.880
members helping them , the effects can

49:36.890 --> 49:39.880
be told by numbers alone . It means a

49:39.880 --> 49:41.991
lot to have the country come together

49:41.991 --> 49:44.900
like this or support us . You know ,

49:45.770 --> 49:47.881
nice to keep the country rolling . We

49:47.881 --> 49:49.992
got ice and water will only make it .

49:50.000 --> 49:53.200
It's nice to , for the nation to see

49:53.200 --> 49:56.890
that we are always ready to do our job

49:57.270 --> 49:59.492
when you see something bad happens next

49:59.492 --> 50:01.492
to actually be able to do something

50:01.492 --> 50:03.603
about it to help out rather than just

50:03.603 --> 50:06.830
donate a few bucks here there . The

50:07.260 --> 50:10.150
National Guard , it's time to go .

50:10.160 --> 50:14.010
Probably the most uh rewarding

50:14.010 --> 50:16.210
thing I've ever done . So there were

50:16.210 --> 50:18.321
long addressing days but the next day

50:18.321 --> 50:20.377
we showed up in the morning to do it

50:20.377 --> 50:22.377
all over again . We practice and we

50:22.377 --> 50:24.321
trained to go to war . But helping

50:24.321 --> 50:27.140
humanitarian issues that really hits

50:27.140 --> 50:30.580
home , the 2000 and five hurricane

50:30.580 --> 50:32.469
season continues until the end of

50:32.469 --> 50:35.580
november . For now , hopes remain high

50:35.580 --> 50:37.700
that the worst is passed and the

50:37.700 --> 50:40.210
difficult task of rebuilding can begin

50:40.210 --> 50:42.580
in earnest . The one thing that is

50:42.580 --> 50:44.910
certain is that it will take years to

50:44.910 --> 50:47.290
recover from the devastation of Katrina

50:47.300 --> 50:49.920
and rita left behind . I'm here for

50:49.920 --> 50:52.440
Sergeant Daniel Marcus . This has been

50:52.440 --> 50:53.070
re kon

51:12.060 --> 51:13.060
Yeah .

51:16.960 --> 51:18.760
Mhm . Yeah . Yeah ,

51:39.360 --> 51:40.260
yeah , yeah ,

51:50.460 --> 51:50.780
yeah