KATRINA: HOTWASH VS. WHITEWASH
By Larry Johnson on September 3, 2005 at 5:57 PM in Current Affairs
by
Larry C. Johnson
Homeland Security has published a National Response Plan for dealing with disasters like Katrina. Unfortunately, nobody in a position of leadership in the Bush Administration appears to have read or understood this document. When the “hotwash” comes somebody better learn something. We can’t afford another disaster like this.
What’s a hotwash? After the military conducts a training exercise they carry out a “hotwash”. A hotwash is shorthand for an after action evaluation of the exercise. The hotwash is supposed to provide a chance to discuss the problems and shortfalls identified during the exercise. This process is supposed to lead to “lessons learned”, which, in a perfect world, means that actual learning takes place and we avoid committing the same errors when the real thing happens.
Having spent the last 11 years desgining and executing counter terrorism exercises for the US military’s special operations forces, I have had a front row seat for watching how we are prepared to deal with the entire spectrum of terrorist threats.
Exercises are not just for the military. FEMA and Homeland Security have participated in dozens of exercises. The purpose of a Homeland Security exercise, for example, is to test the decision making and communication procedures that would use in response to say, a category 5 hurricane. The exercise would include making actual contact with the State and local officials threatened by the hurricane. Well, guess what? We are not talking hypothetical, there actually was an exercise in July 2004 that involved Homeland Security and FEMA, which tested the very scenario of a hurricane hitting New Orleans and causing a breach in the levees. It looks like that instead of a ‘hotwash” we got a whitewash. Apparently nobody learned anything.
I don’t know if the Congress will let the President and the heads of Homeland Security and FEMA off the hook, but the media should not let any Administration official offer the lame excuse that this was unexpected or unprecedented disaster. The Administration’s own documents condemn them. Take a look at the Department of Homeland Security’s website. There is a National Response Plan that is supposed to be the guide for responding to disasters like Katrina. Why didn’t they use it?
National Response Plan
“One team, one goal…a safer, more secure America”
The National Response Plan establishes a comprehensive all-hazards approach to enhance the ability of the United States to manage domestic incidents. The plan incorporates best practices and procedures from incident management disciplines—homeland security, emergency management, law enforcement, firefighting, public works, public health, responder and recovery worker health and safety, emergency medical services, and the private sector—and integrates them into a unified structure. It forms the basis of how the federal government coordinates with state, local, and tribal governments and the private sector during incidents. It establishes protocols to help
This document contains the claim that, “The National Response Plan provides mechanisms for expedited and proactive Federal support”. Where in the name of God was the expedited and proactive support?
This is a case of negligence and incompetence that cannot and should not be forgiven. Al Qaeda operatives around the world have watched our bumbling, incompetent response to the hurricane. They have already determined that they can fight us on the ground in Iraq. They may decide that the time has come to bring the war back to our homeland.
Take a look at the section of the National Response Plan below that covers response strategies and coordination with local authorities. The only possible excuse is that the Federal officials forgot to read their own damn report!
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0569.xml
National Response Plan: Local/Federal Response Strategies & Coordination Structures
National Response Plan Main Page >> Local/Federal Response Strategies & Coordination Structures
Emphasis on Local Response
All incidents are handled at the lowest possible organizational and jurisdictional level. Police, fire, public health and medical, emergency management, and other personnel are responsible for incident management at the local level. For those events that rise to the level of an Incident of National Significance, the Department of Homeland Security provides operational and/or resource coordination for Federal support to on-scene incident command structures.
Proactive Federal Response to Catastrophic Events
The National Response Plan provides mechanisms for expedited and proactive Federal support to ensure critical life-saving assistance and incident containment capabilities are in place to respond quickly and efficiently to catastrophic incidents. These are high-impact, low-probability incidents, including natural disasters and terrorist attacks that result in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, and/or government functions.
Multi-Agency Coordination Structures
The National Response Plan establishes multi-agency coordinating structures at the field, regional and headquarters levels. These structures:
Enable the execution of the responsibilities of the President through the appropriate Federal department and agencies;
Integrate Federal, State, local, tribal, nongovernmental Organization, and private-sector efforts; and
Provide a national capability that addresses both site-specific incident management activities and broader regional or national issues, such as impacts to the rest of the country, immediate regional or national actions required to avert or prepare for potential subsequent events, and the management of multiple incidents.
New Coordinating Mechanisms Include
Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC)
The HSOC serves as the primary national-level multi-agency situational awareness and operational coordination center. The HSOC includes elements of the Department of Homeland Security and other Federal departments and agencies.
National Response Coordination Center (NRCC)
The NRCC, a functional component of the HSOC, is a multi-agency center that provides overall Federal response coordination.
Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC)
At the regional level, the RRCC coordinates regional response efforts and implements local Federal program support until a Joint Field Office is established.
Interagency Incident Management Group (IIMG)
A tailored group of senior level Federal interagency representatives who provide strategic advice to the Secretary of Homeland Security during an actual or potential Incident of National Significance.
Joint Field Office (JFO)
A temporary Federal facility established locally to provide a central point for Federal, State, local, and tribal representatives with responsibility for incident support and coordination.
Principal Federal Official (PFO)
A PFO may be designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security during a potential or actual Incident of National Significance. While individual Federal officials retain their authorities pertaining to specific aspects of incident management, the PFO works in conjunction with these officials to coordinate overall Federal incident management efforts.
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By Sarah Palin (Release date: November 17. 2009)
Larry, got go in a few…back in the AM…
there is a big time issue in the rebuilding to face-
New Orleans being ovehauled from the ground up can become the first net zero usage energy provider via the intraduction of solar and wind sourcing per household.
Solar panels also help to distill water and can even be used to provde hot water in addition to usable electric lighting for flourescents.
If such were there and made field deployable with the mind of such wind conditions it is possible to refocu the consumption driven model in a way that responds inherently to peak power times on a daily and overall strategic basis.
Enough of looting our blood and treasury forwars on energy!
Finally lake P-Train can also be made in the hydroelectric facilities in its vast complex of back channels and even in the lake’s heart the newly developed wave transmission technology that serves in a motor capacity can literally run any neighboring grid from harnessing what energy the water carries as it moves in what we consider a static setting.
My uncle worked the Corps of engineers, he has since departed. To see the legacy of infrastructure he took pride in go neglected by the petulant privilege profile of George W Bush is a slap in the face to the good standing fundamental institutions that have made America great in civil and economic terms.
Sorry for the other strongly worded statement but it had to be said. In no means was it meant to incite, can see why it was not posted.
Larry,
Chertoff ‘fibbed big time’ in his afternoon speech.
Michael Chertoff is showing that the truth is not in him. In addition to Michael Brown who needs to be given the exit door at FEMA, we as a nation can ill afford a lying deceitful Secretary of Homeland Security as well! Innocents are dead, and more are dying! Incompetence and deceitfulness canNOT be tolerated in such critical positions as the Department of Homeland Security or FEMA!
Chertoff — RESIGN!
Brown — RESIGN!
http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/9/3/145043/1693
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/theme_home2.jsp
In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other large-scale emergency, the Department of Homeland Security will assume primary responsibility on March 1st for ensuring that emergency response professionals are prepared for any situation. This will entail providing a coordinated, comprehensive federal response to any large-scale crisis and mounting a swift and effective recovery effort. The new Department will also prioritize the important issue of citizen preparedness. Educating America’s families on how best to prepare their homes for a disaster and tips for citizens on how to respond in a crisis will be given special attention at DHS.
Michael Chertoff had “primary responsibility” then on the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
KATRINA: HOTWASH VS. WHITEWASH
Having watched Bush officials, particularly Chertoff, try to pretend this event caught them off guard with no way of anticipating what would happen, my bullshit alert went off. Here’s my take on why they deserve a beating.
“This is a case of neglige…
Larry,
‘privatizing’ disaster preparedness disaster planning, one gets what one pays for. and IEM Inc. was a disaster for disaster preparedness.
IEM Team to Develop Catastrophic Hurricane Disaster Plan for New Orleans & Southeast Louisiana
June 3 , 2004
http://web.archive.org/web/20041126062052/http://www.ieminc.com/Whats_New/Press_Releases/pressrelease060304_Catastrophic.htm
IEM, Inc., the Baton Rouge-based emergency management and homeland security consultant, will lead the development of a catastrophic hurricane disaster plan for Southeast Louisiana and the City of New Orleans under a more than half a million dollar contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In making the announcement today on behalf of teaming partners Dewberry, URS Corporation and James Lee Witt Associates, IEM Director of Homeland Security Wayne Thomas explained that the development of a base catastrophic hurricane disaster plan has urgency due to the recent start of the annual hurricane season which runs through November. National weather experts are predicting an above normal Atlantic hurricane season with six to eight hurricanes, of which three could be categorized as major.
The IEM team will complete a functional exercise on a catastrophic hurricane strike in Southeast Louisiana and use results to develop a response and recovery plan. A catastrophic event is one that can overwhelm State, local and private capabilities so quickly that communities could be devastated without Federal assistance and multi-agency planning and preparedness.
Thomas said that the greater New Orleans area is one of the nation’s most vulnerable locations for hurricane landfall.
“Given this area’s vulnerability, unique geographic location and elevation, and troubled escape routes, a plan that facilitates a rapid and effective hurricane response and recovery is critical,” he said. “The IEM team’s approach to catastrophic planning meets the challenges associated with integrating multi-jurisdictional needs and capabilities into an effective plan for addressing catastrophic hurricane strikes, as well as man-made catastrophic events.”
IEM President and CEO Madhu Beriwal is the recipient of a s pecial merit award from the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association ( LEPA ) for her work in New Orleans hurricane emergency preparedness.
IEM, Inc. was founded in 1985, and is one of the leading emergency management corporations in the U.S. While some organizations include emergency management as one of many business areas, helping to plan for and manage emergencies is IEM’s core business . IEM’s clients include some of the foremost federal emergency and defense organizations in the U.S., including the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.ieminc.com
Established in 1956, Dewberry is a multidisciplinary planning, engineering, and design firm, employing more than 1,600 individuals. As FEMA’s largest contractor, Dewberry plays a significant role in the national effort to reduce the impact of both natural (flood, fire, earthquake, tropical storm, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, and winter storm) and man-made (hazardous waste, terrorism, etc.) hazards on people, property, and the economy. http://www.dewberry.com
URS Corporation provides planning, engineering, architecture, and applied science to hundreds of government agencies and private industrial and commercial companies worldwide. The company has more than 26,000 employees — the largest Architectural & Engineering firm in the U. S. for the fourth consecutive year.URS has approximately 500 employees in Louisiana. URS has over 30 years of experience in hazard mitigation planning and engineering support work for FEMA and other customers. http://www.urscorp.com
James Lee Witt Associates, LLC, established in 2001 by the former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is a leader in public safety and crisis management. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in Atlanta, Chicago and Sacramento, James Lee Witt Associates works with state, local and foreign governments, corporations, hospitals, universities and utilities in conducting vulnerability assessments, after-event audits and reviews, developing all-hazard emergency and continuity of operations planning, as well as with the telecommunications industry on wireless interoperability. http://www.wittassociates.com
Larry,
WHY is LA Gov. Blanco paying James Lee Witt (former FEMA dir.) to assist in hurricane recovery? Witt’s firm was part of the IEM Inc team that came up with the non-existent $500,000 FEMA N.O.-SELA catastrophic hurricane disaster plan. Why pay Witt again for his incompetence?
Larry,
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2005_09/007042.php
BEHIND THE CURTAIN….George Bush’s photo-op tour of New Orleans yesterday has apparently driven Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu over the edge. Today she blasted FEMA for its feeble response to Hurricane Katrina and Bush for his phony, stage managed promises of action:
I understand that the U.S. Forest Service had water-tanker aircraft available to help douse the fires raging on our riverfront, but FEMA has yet to accept the aid. When Amtrak offered trains to evacuate significant numbers of victims — far more efficiently than buses — FEMA again dragged its feet. Offers of medicine, communications equipment and other desperately needed items continue to flow in, only to be ignored by the agency.
But perhaps the greatest disappointment stands at the breached 17th Street levee. Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment. The good and decent people of southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast — black and white, rich and poor, young and old — deserve far better from their national government.
I’m almost worn out with anger reading about the decimation of FEMA under Bush’s watch; the pathetic lack of response to Katrina from the federal government; the relentless television images of human degradation; and the endless excuses from administration hacks pretending that nobody could have predicted Katrina’s devastation. I realize that it’s no different from what’s been happening in Iraq for the past two years, but Iraq is 8,000 miles away and the truth is that no matter how angry we are at what’s going on there, it’s to some extent an intellectual anger. What’s happening in New Orleans is like a punch in the gut.
What Jon Chait said about Iraq last week is perhaps even truer about New Orleans. The hallmarks of the Bush/Rove governing philosophy — partisan discipline, industry giveaways, and relentless lying — work pretty well as long as you can disguise the results of your policies. When you can’t, it suddenly becomes obvious even to your supporters that the emperor has no clothes. It’s taken two years for a lot of people to realize that about Iraq. It’s taken less than a week to realize it about New Orleans.
UP
There was a striking dicrepancy between the CNN International report on the Bush visit to the New Orleans disaster zone, yesterday, and reports of the same event by German TV.
ZDF News reported that the president’s visit was a completely staged event. Their crew witnessed how the open air food distribution point Bush visited in front of the cameras was torn down immediately after the president and the herd of ‘news people’ had left and that others which were allegedly being set up were abandoned at the same time.
The people in the area were once again left to fend for themselves, said ZDF.
This goes beyond stage management. This is criminal.
If the shrub is consitent then Chertof and Brown will get medals of freedom.
Bush Should Have Stayed on Vacation
“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” — George W. Bush, congratulating inept FEMA head Michael Brown, Sept. 2, 2005. In Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, Bush shamelessly posed for political photo-ops with food distribution efforts as a backdrop….
EVERYONE WHO THINKS WE NEED A GOVERNMENT THAT DOES NOT LET PEOPLE DROWN, RAISE THEIR HAND.
Other IEM wisdome from a “things you can sell the government” publication.
One chilling paragraph pinpoints profound intelectual dishonesty (or bold PR )
which lead to the Katrina disaster.
“In an evacuation, people make decisions on their own
without the need for input from official sources,
says Madhu Beriwal, president and CEO
of Innovative Emergency Management,
Baton Rouge, La. The lesson for
disaster planners, she says, is that a lot
of good can come just by letting people
be people.”
Another shows this thinking is not isolated to New Orleans.
” “Public warning is first and foremost
a social process,” says a report
released earlier this year by James Lee
Witt and Associates reviewing evacuation
plans for the Indian Point nuclear
power station miles north of New
York City and the Millstone nuclear
power plant in Connecticut. ”
Source:
Homeland Protection Professional September 2003
By David Wagman, Contributing Editor
http://www.ieminc.com/Whats_New/Evacuations_reprint.pdf