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Sunday, September 04, 2005

C-5 load
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --The first of three Navy CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters departing the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center for Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., reaches the half-way point during loading into an Air Force C-5 Galaxy. (U.S. Air Force photo by Rob Raine)

More Soldiers deploy to help with hurricane relief

Sgt. Donald McVay, from the 900th Maintenance Company, Alabama Army National Guard, loads Meals Ready-to-Eat for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Master Sgt. James Bowman

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 2, 2005) – Thousands of National Guard and active-duty Soldiers from across the nation are deploying to the Gulf coast to help with Hurricane Katrina recovery operations.

Troops from the 1st Cavalry Division and 4th Infantry Division based out of Fort Hood, Texas, are now part of Joint Task Force Katrina, headquartered at Camp Shelby, Miss. Helicopters and crews from Hood’s 1st Air Cavalry Brigade are the lead air element of the task force.

More than 19,500 National Guard Soldiers were on duty to assist with the hurricane recovery in Louisiana and Mississippi as of Sept. 2, according to a Guard Bureau spokesman, with thousands more en route from across the nation expected to arrive this weekend.

The Ohio National Guard, for instance, reported it is preparing to deploy about 1,500 Soldiers and airmen to assist in the hurricane rescue and recovery efforts. The units will provide security and general support in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Arkansas Guard opens doors to evacuees

The Arkansas National Guard is preparing to open 59 Guard readiness centers (formerly referred to as armories) in 58 counties this weekend to assist with efforts to register hurricane evacuees. Two other Guard centers there have been serving as shelters since Aug. 30.

About 1,000 Soldiers and airmen from the Arkansas National Guard are already involved in relief efforts in Louisiana and Mississippi. Two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters are flying search and rescue missions along the Gulf Coast and several Soldiers have been assisting with the evacuation of the New Orleans Veterans Administration Medical Center.

A team manning a highly specialized communications truck from Arkansas is supporting the Louisiana joint operations center at Zephyr Field near New Orleans.

More than 40 Soldiers from the 93rd Signal Brigade out of Fort Gordon, Ga., are providing communications support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the joint task force at Camp Shelby, about 100 miles north of New Orleans. The communications support includes both secure and non-secure voice and data communications, and video teleconferencing, officials said.

Continental Armies have key role

Joint Task Force Katrina at Camp Shelby is commanded by Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honoré, commanding general of First U.S. Army. Joint Task Force Katrina has the responsibility for coordinating overall DoD relief efforts in the affected areas. Both the First and Fifth Armies fall under the control of Northern Command during the disaster-relief operation, officials said. FirstArmy is in charge of mobilizing the reserve component eat of the Mississippi, and Fifth Army is west of the Mississippi.

Soldiers from Fifth Army and the 75th Division are assisting in efforts to evacuate people from the New Orleans Superdome to the Houston Astrodome. The Superdome, used as a temporary shelter for thousands of people, was itself badly damaged during the disaster, causing the need for further evacuation to the Astrodome nearly 355 miles away.

Helicopters assess damage, haul logistics

Task Force Katrina aircraft from Fort Hood were initially given the mission of flying assessment teams for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Col. Dan Shanahan, commander of the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.

“Once we finish those missions, we’ll be flying food, water, logistical support missions and providing evacuations of people out of dangerous areas,” Shanahan said.

“Right now, there is a lot of ambiguity on the ground, but every day we’re making great progress and helping those great people that were hurt in this hurricane,” Shanahan added.

Shanahan said that as of Sept. 1, 80 aircraft and 300 Fort Hood Soldiers were part of Task Force Katrina, and he expected that number to grow.

One of the task force’s CH-47 Chinooks was loaded Sept. 1 with more than 16,000 pounds – mainly generators and initial supply items for the forward-deploying troops.

“I’m just glad to help,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 T.J. Saari, a Blackhawk pilot with 2-227th Aviation. “It feels a little different than Iraq. Over there, it’s the job you signed up for. Here, we’re just lending out a helping hand.”

The impact of Hurricane Katrina and helping those in need extends well beyond the deployments to Louisiana for some Soldiers. Several Fort Hood Soldiers have family in the areas devastated by the hurricane. Shanahan said that his driver’s family, from Mississippi, has relocated temporarily to central Texas.

Several troops have had to make sacrifices on the home front to help those in need. The aviation troops are eager to help, whether they are personally affected by the disaster or not.

“I’m glad to help. This is what I do” said Spc. Chad Webster, a flight operations specialist with Headquarters Company, 1st ACB. “But it’s my son’s birthday on the sixth. It’s the fourth birthday I’ll miss, and he’ll be four years old.”

(Editor’s note: Spc. Colby Hauser of 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs was a significant contributor to this article, along with National Guard news releases and one from Fort Huachuca, Ariz.)

September 2, 2005 Mississippi Army National Guardsmen and Sailors from the Amphibious Assault Ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) load a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with hurricane relief supplies at Gulf Port International Airport, Miss. By PH1 Ken J. Riley

September 2, 2005 National Guardsmen at the Gulf Port International Airport, Miss., load a Humvee with bottles of water to be delivered to victims of Hurricane Katrina. By PH1 Ken J. Riley

Story and photos from ARNews

As the Blog for Relief continues ($ 698,350 in contributions so far, and 1,647 blogs participating), please remember to do what you can to assist those affected by the storm. My recommended charity is the Soldiers' Angels Operation Katrina Soldiers' Relief Fund. You can find a list of charities recommended by the Blog for Relief here, and a list of involved blogs here. If you donate, don't forget to log your contribution here; you can do so anonymously.
MEDICAL HELP — U.S. Army Maj. Cathy Champion prescribes medicine to an Iraqi woman with the help of a translator at the Nazic el Maleka Elementary School in the Shohada District, west Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 27, 2005. Champion is a doctor with the 256th Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jorge A. Rodriguez

In Today's News - Sunday, September 4, 2005

Quote of the Day
"With reasonable men I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments, where they will certainly be lost."

-- William Lloyd Garrison

News of Note
Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies

Hurricane Katrina
Katrina Survivors Bused, Airlifted Out of New Orleans
Everyone Out of Superdome
Photos: Day 6, Part I
Part II
Bush: 7K More GIs Coming
Video: Troops to Come Home
Video: Who's to Blame?
What About Mississippi?
Families Search Frantically
The Big Easy That Was
Rebuild or Just Give Up?
Katrina's Aftermath Q&A
Fast Facts: Katrina Timeline
More Storms Possible
Katrina victims finally rescued from hard-hit town
Troops sent as evacuees escape New Orleans chaos
U.S. vows to end New Orleans' violent crime wave
Bush orders more than 7,000 troops to Gulf
Mississippians' suffering overshadowed
Bush aides meet with black leaders
300 Airmen Leaving Mideast for Gulf Coast

Operation Iraqi Freedom
Iraq House-to-House Battle
19 Iraqi police, soldiers die in Baquba attacks

Other News of Note
"Top Gun" Tomcats set for one last hurrah

Fox News
Aruba Suspects Released
France's Chirac in Hospital
Oil Outlook Improving

Reuters: Top News
WHouse visit by China's Hu canceled due to Katrina
Beslan mourns with tolling bell, doves
China's Hu moves to burnish reformist credentials

The Seattle Times
U.N. official charged with money laundering
Iran faulted for hiding nuclear information
Vietnam celebrates 60 years of independence

CENTCOM: News Release
TASK FORCE LIBERTY SOLDIERS STOP AMBUSH, DETAIN EIGHT IN AD DULUIYAH
WEAPONS CACHE DESTROYED, TERROR SUSPECTS CAPTURED NEAR AL-AMIRIYAH
SECURITY FORCES CONTINUE TO TAKE CHARGE AGAINST TERROR

Department of Defense
Coalition Forces Capture Terror Suspects — Story
Attack Kills U.S. Soldier, Afghan Interpreter — Story

IN IRAQ
Task Force Soldiers Inspect Iraqi Polling Sites

TOP NEWS
SPECIAL REPORTS

Hurricane Katrina

IN IRAQ
Security Forces Progress Continues
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Iraq Daily Update
Multinational Force Iraq
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps
Afghan Reconstruction Group Recruiting

WAR ON TERRORISM
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army Casualty — Story

Weather
Iraq

Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

Today in History
0476
- Romulus Augustulus, last Roman emperor in the west, is deposed.
1609 - Navigator Henry Hudson discovers the island of Manhattan.
1618 - The "Rodi" avalanche destroys Plurs Switzerland, killing 1,500.
1781 - 44 settlers found Los Angeles, in the Bahia de las Fumas (Valley of Smokes).
1833 - Barney Flaherty becomes the first newsboy hired (NY Sun).
1882 - NY's Pearl Street Station becomes the first district lit by electricty.
1885 - In NYC, the first cafeteria opens.
1886 - With the capture of Geronimo, the last major U.S.-Indian war ends.
1888 - George Eastman patents the first roll-film camera, registering the name "Kodak."
1911 - Garros sets a world altitude record of 4,250 m (13,944 ft).
1918 - U.S. troops land in Archangel, Russia - they will stay 10 months.
1927 - Charles Lindbergh visits Boise, Idaho, on his cross-country tour.
1939 - The Polish ghetto of Mir is wiped out.
1945 - The U.S. regains possession of Wake Island from Japan.
1948 - In the Netherlands, Queen Wilhelmina abdicates.
1950 - For the first time, a helicopter rescues an American pilot behind enemy lines; D McI Hodgson of St Ann Bay, Nova Scotia catches a 997 lb tuna.
1951 - President Truman makes the first transcontinental TV broadcast.
1954 - The Northwest passage, first passage of McClure Strait, is completed.
1957 - Ford Motor Commpany introduces the Edsel.
1961 - The U.S. authorizes the Agency for International Development.
1964 - NASA launches its first Orbital Geophysical Observatory (OGO-1).
1971 - An Alaskan 727 crashes into the Chilkoot Mountain (AK), killing 109.
1972 - U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz becomes the first athlete to win 7 Olympic gold medals.
1981 - NBC releases newscaster David Brinkley.
1983 - Greg LeMond becomes the only American to win cycling's Road Championship.

Birthdays
1802
- Marcus Whitman, missionary, led to the U.S. securing Oregon
1803 - Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady to President James K. Polk
1810 - Donald McKay, U.S. naval architect, built the fastest clipper ships
1846 - Daniel Burnham, U.S. architect, built skyscrapers
1917 - Henry Ford II, automaker (Ford)
1918 - Paul Harvey, news commentator (The Rest of the Story)
1926 - Robert J. Lagomarsino (Rep-CA)
1929 - Thomas Eagleton (Sen-MO, Dem VP candidate, 1972)
1965 - Terri Lynn Doss, Playboy playmate (Jul, 1988)
1966 - Debra Lewin, Miss Vermont-America (1991)
1970 - Jennifer Nakken, Miss Utah-America (1991)
2179 - Nyota Uhura, communications officer (Star Trek)

Passings
1553 - Cornelia da Nomatalcino, monk who converted to Judaism, burned at the stake
1965 - Albert Schweitzer, theologian, musician, medical missionary
1975 - Walter Tetley (voice of Sherman on the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show)

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Branch, James A., USAF (IL); F4C shot down (w/Jewell), remains returned March, 1992 - ID'd June, 1993

Jewell, Eugene M., USAF (KS);

1966
Bliss, Ronald G., USAF (CA); F105D shot down (pilot), released by DRV March, 1973 - alive as of 1998

McNish, Thomas M., USAF (TN); F105D shot down (pilot), released by DRV March, 1973 - retired from USAFMC as a Coloneol - alive and well as of 1998

Nasmyth, John H., USAF (CA); F4C shot down (pilot, w/Salzarulo), released by DRV February, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

Salzarulo, Raymond P., USAF (WV); F4C shot down (B/N, w/Nasmyth), remains returned September, 1990

nocashfortrash.org