>>>>Our decider in chief has decided that Katrina was perfectly handled by more then qualified people:
>>>>
>>>>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100601527.html
>>>
>>>While I agree FEMA must be headed by someone qualified for disaster response, that agency is just a shell. They are responsible for coordinating the responses of all other Agencies like EPA, Corps of Engineers, US Coast Guard, etc. They have never had the staff necessary to actually carry out responses themselves.
>>
>>It seems that as a nation we have in the past been able to handle emergencies on a timely basis. Perhaps we should get our act together and be able to have a better response to emergencies. Today we may be much too sophisticated to be able to respond when there is a problem. Too many layers of bureaucracy might be our problem.
>>
>>Having participated in emergencies through the Red Cross and Air Force in years past we had a system that quickly enlisted the cooperation of local, state and federal agencies. The lack of action at all levels of government during the Katrina event is inexcusable.
>>
>>Hindsight is a good teacher.
>>Soon Katrina will be a forgotten event. How have we improved our ability to respond to emergencies?
>
>On a whole, we most likely have on a federal level. And we have been able to respond to emergencies quite wel in the past. However, there has NEVER been anything that I can remember in this country like what happened during Katrina.
>
>You should do some research on the Incident Command System (ICS) to see how organized response is really supposed to work on a local, State and Federal level. It peals away much of the bureaucracy and turf titles. I would imagine the Red Cross and Air Force experience you had incorporated much of this system whether they knew it or not.
>
>Too many layers of bureaucracy is our problem for just about everything in gov't. That is why NO ONE should rely on any gov't for their own security, and wll being. Hell, even the local police and judicial system is for the most part an "after-the-fact" system.

One incident during Katrina that is hard to understand is what happened to two Navy officers. They were flying a helicopter over New Orleans delivering supplies right after Katrina hit. They saw a family on a roof top and stopped to help them.

When they landed they were reprimanded by their CO for “not carrying out their mission”. They should not have stopped to help. Something seems wrong with that incident. It is as if you should not take initiative to save lives unless ordered to do so. It seems that too many people and departments were waiting to receive word of what to do and when and just waited in all too many cases.