Louisiana National Guard took equipment with them to Iraq

[Cocoa]

http://abc26.trb.com/news/natguard08012005,0,4504131.story?coll=wgno-news-1

LA National Guard Wants Equipment to Come Back From Iraq

Yunji de Nies

August 1, 2005, 9:07 PM CDT

JACKSON BARRACKS -- When members of the Louisiana National Guard left for Iraq in October, they took a lot equipment with them. Dozens of high water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators are now abroad, and in the event of a major natural disaster that, could be a problem.

"The National Guard needs that equipment back home to support the homeland security mission," said Lt. Colonel Pete Schneider with the LA National Guard.

Col. Schneider says the state has enough equipment to get by, and if Louisiana were to get hit by a major hurricane, the neighboring states of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida have all agreed to help.

"As Governor Bush did for Ivan, after they were hit so many times, he just maxed all of his resources out, he reached out to Louisiana and we sent 200 national guardsmen to help support in recovery efforts," Col. Schneider said.

Members of the Houma-based 256th Infantry will be returning in October, but it could be much longer before the rest of their equipment comes home.

more...

[shoelace414]

1. what do you need with a high water vechile in a desert?

[Cocoa]

3. that was Doug Feith's idea n/t

[RC]

4. For the same reason you need amphibious personal carriers

in Iraq. Our own government doesn't support the troops. Now the people in the path of Hurricane Katrina will pay the price.

I guess all them poor people in New Orleans need to get better jobs so that can make that $1000 donation to bu$h. :sarcasm:

By the way... New Orleans in in the spell checker. NO means "ain't gonna". None of us are trying to emulate that site we don't mention now are we? :shrug:

[Mabus]

16. It's for when the Administration officials visit

it helps plowing through the huge mounds of BS that is left in their wake.

on edit: A possible explanation is that they were planning ahead :crazy: in case Baghdad flooded.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/terrain.htm


Both the Tigris and the Euphrates break into a number of channels in the marshland area, and the flow of the rivers is substantially reduced by the time they come together at Al Qurnah. Moreover, the swamps act as silt traps, and the Shatt al Arab is relatively silt free as it flows south. Below Basra, however, the Karun River enters the Shatt al Arab from Iran, carrying large quantities of silt that present a continuous dredging problem in maintaining a channel for ocean-going vessels to reach the port at Basra. This problem had been superseded by a greater obstacle to river traffic, however, namely the presence of several sunken hulks that had been rusting in the Shatt al Arab since early in the war.

The waters of the Tigris and Euphrates are essential to the life of the country, but they may also threaten it. The rivers are at their lowest level in September and October and at flood in March, April, and May when they may carry forty times as much water as at low mark. Moreover, one season's flood may be ten or more times as great as that in another year. In 1954, for example, Baghdad was seriously threatened, and dikes protecting it were nearly topped by the flooding Tigris. Since Syria built a dam on the Euphrates, the flow of water has been considerably diminished and flooding was no longer a problem in the mid-1980s. In 1988 Turkey was also constructing a dam on the Euphrates that would further restrict the water flow.

[MADem]

32. Actually, they would be useful around the Tigris and Euphrates

It depends on where they are situated--it ain't all desert, there's a lot of marshland in the south.

I do not blame those guys, they sure as fuck are not gonna get anything from the Pentagon...during the first GW, the poor reservists had shit, and only got help when they were in serious straits from active duty people who said FUCK THE RULES and did a work-around.

[NYC]

2. Did the State of Louisiana pay for that equipment?

Should a state be supplying state purchased equipment to fight a George Bush (national) war?

[Bluebear]

5. Holy cannoli

[KittyWampus]

6. OMFG

[Mabus]

20. Ditto

My husband strolled by and asked for the latest news. I showed him the original post, he's exact words were "Oh my f**king god." He then followed with his faux tirade about "freedom" and "noble cause" with a slurry Texas accent.

[Cleita]

7. This is all shaping up to be a major F**up for *w.

He doesn't seem to be aware of it. Are his advisors so afraid of telling him when he's in the middle of a major screw up?

Hitler, who had to take medication to sleep, would get so angry when his aides would wake him up in the middle of the night with a crisis, they stopped doing it. When the allies invaded Normandy, he was sleeping and no one bothered to tell him until the next day. Look what happened.

[Bluebear]

8. He's packing his kit for AZ and CA trip tomorrow

Sunscreen, check, golf clubs, check....

[SammyWinstonJack]

34. Getting on with his life, check.

He doesn't even care how bad his actions appear, 99.9% of the time. It's amazing.

[KittyWampus]

9. Going to have to kick this

[annabanana]

10. nominated...

Maybe now SOME people will understand why the National Guard is supposed to be HERE not THERE!!!

[Maru Kitteh]

11. recommended

ass hats have probably cost the lives of THOUSANDS in NO.

[BrklynLiberal]

12. kicked and recommended

[Fleshdancer]

13. What the hell????!!!!?!?!??

This is wrong on so many levels.

1. Why in the hell is the National Guard taking equipment offshore?

2. How many other states have their National Guard equipment in Iraq?

3. Who's bright idea was it to let this happen?

4. When exactly will LA get their equipment back?

[meganmonkey]

15. Don't forget the simple fact that the Guard is overseas at all

This will be the first time that the whole country will be watching a city deal with a catastrophe with no Guard to help out. There have been problems with forest fires because so many firefighters are in the Guard and weren't around this summer to help out. But this will get a lot more press and will be a more straightforward example of how we NEED THE GUARD HERE for these sorts of emergencies!

:(

[Fleshdancer]

17. I overlooked the obvious. I can't believe this is our reality.

My heart goes out to LA right now but I also feel horrible for the people in the LA National Guard who are stuck in Iraq knowing that a category 5 hurricane is about to hit their state and they can't be there to help.

[meganmonkey]

19. This is really sad. I hope some miracle happens and she mellows

or something. I am going to try to go to bed now and I hope I don't wake up to horrible news.

Peace!

[fishnfla]

14. How many body bags are left ? eom

[MADem]

33. Plenty, at the start of this mess

They ordered up something like a couple of hundred thousand (some no doubt used for the "enemy") and five thousand new "personnel transfer tubes." The latter, you may not know, are reusable--they steam and scrub them out and send them back for the next poor bastard.

Part of the reason for the flag draping (held on with bungee cords) is because they get dinged up--they are not all shiny and new after a few trips back and forth. The servicemember is transferred to a civilian casket prior to interment...

[MelissaB]

18. Bush: We have to fight the hurricane with the equipment we have, not the

equipment we wish we had.

[Melissa G]

22. Just shows how little time Bush actually spent in the Guard that

he so misuses them and their assets. Bush was AWOL in his first Guard go 'round and AWOL in Crawford as alleged commander in chief.. Hiding out in AL from his texas guard duties.. and hiding in Crawford from the messy war he created... and hiding from Cindy's questions even as he hides on his 5 week vacation ..sheesh!

[mshasta]

21. kick!

:wtf:

[eridani]

23. Western states have exactly the same problem with equipment--

--that should be used to fight forest fires. Hope we don't have any earthquakes either

[vanboggie]

24. " * will keep us safe"

*it.

[Raster]

25. members of the national guard in just about every state are

present in Iraq. They all took their vehicles and equipment with them. The National Guard was NEVER meant to be deployed off of American soil. But in these days with the patriot acts and war on terra, anything is possible.

Sadly, because of the drain of equipment and Guardsmen, this country is going to take serious hits on any home front emergency.

[troubleinwinter]

26. In other words, he has left us defenseless.

He shipped our equipment and troops overseas and we are unprotected from our enemies, natural or otherwise.

[Karenina]

29. Shipped your jobs overseas too...

*co is NOT good for America.

[tgnyc]

27. Just when you thought the Iraq War couldn't get any more

disasterous.

[maddezmom]

28. BBC doing live updates

hurricane force winds already hitting the mouth of the Miss. river.

[M155Y_A1CH]

30. Kick

:kick: This is an outrage!!!

[drm604]

31. Kick

:kick: