4 Years ago: Navy chopper pilots who rescued Katrina victims reprimanded, 1 assigned to kennels

[HamdenRice]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/national/nationalspecial/07navy.html?_r=1&oref=login

Navy Pilots Who Rescued Victims Are Reprimanded

By DAVID S. CLOUD
Published: September 7, 2005

PENSACOLA, Fla., Sept. 6 - Two Navy helicopter pilots and their crews returned from New Orleans on Aug. 30 expecting to be greeted as lifesavers after ferrying more than 100 hurricane victims to safety.

Instead, their superiors chided the pilots, Lt. David Shand and Lt. Matt Udkow, at a meeting the next morning for rescuing civilians when their assignment that day had been to deliver food and water to military installations along the Gulf Coast.

...

The two lieutenants were each piloting a Navy H-3 helicopter - a type often used in rescue operations as well as transport and other missions - on that Tuesday afternoon, delivering emergency food, water and other supplies to Stennis Space Center, a federal facility near the Mississippi coast. The storm had cut off electricity and water to the center, and the two helicopters were supposed to drop their loads and return to Pensacola, their home base, said Cmdr. Michael Holdener, Pensacola's air operations chief.

...

Seeing people on the roofs of houses waving to him, Lieutenant Udkow headed in their direction. Hovering over power lines, his crew dropped a basket to pick up two residents at a time. He took them to Lakefront Airport, where local emergency medical teams had established a makeshift medical center.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Shand landed his helicopter on the roof of an apartment building, where more than a dozen people were marooned. Women and children were loaded first aboard the helicopter and ferried to the airport, he said.

...

Recalling the rescues in an interview, he became so emotional that he had to stop and compose himself. At one point, he said, he executed a tricky landing at a highway overpass, where more than 35 people were marooned.

Lieutenant Udkow said that he saw few other rescue helicopters in New Orleans that day. The toughest part, he said, was seeing so many people imploring him to pick them up and having to leave some.

"I would be looking at a family of two on one roof and maybe a family of six on another roof, and I would have to make a decision who to rescue," he said. "It wasn't easy."

...


"We all want to be the guys who rescue people," Commander Holdener said. "But they were told we have other missions we have to do right now and that is not the priority."

The order to halt civilian relief efforts angered some helicopter crews. Lieutenant Udkow, who associates say was especially vocal about voicing his disagreement to superiors, was taken out of the squadron's flying rotation temporarily and assigned to oversee a temporary kennel established at Pensacola to hold pets of service members evacuated from the hurricane-damaged areas, two members of the unit said. Lieutenant Udkow denied that he had complained and said he did not view the kennel assignment as punishment.

In protest, some members of the unit have stopped wearing a search and rescue patch on their sleeves that reads, "So Others May Live."

[Buzz Clik]

1. It's a tricky situation. Their actions were truly heroic and admirable.

They also defied orders.

It would have been nice for the military to bend the rules or to have given them latitude in the first place.

[rucky]

2. I think their conscience is clear.

When faced with a conflict like that, I'd like to think I wouldn't hesitate to do what they did.

[Buzz Clik]

19. And that's the problem -- they did the right thing but had to go outside the lines to do it.

I'm sure they're okay with that.

[LiberalAndProud]

4. I would have been nice if they the military had issued orders.

What happened in the aftermath of Katrina is nothing short of criminal.

[Louisiana1976]

10. Yes--this shouldn't be explained away as mere incompetence or bumbling.

What happened in Louisiana was genocide, pure and simple--and it was right for those copter pilots to carry out rescues. Because obviously the Commander in Chief cruelly wanted people in Louisiana to drown. I wonder how long it will take for these top officials from Bush on down to be called to accounting--if this happens at all.

[HamdenRice]

7. They didn't defy orders

They accomplished their task and exercised their discretion to respond to urgent requests for rescue assistance. They tried to radio for permission, but couldn't get through.

Most people in their situation are given wide discretion to use their initiative. That's what they were instead punished for.

[Louisiana1976]

9. I agree--because of the emergency the military should have

bent the rules or given them latitude. But since they didn't, they shouldn't have reprimanded them for saving lives even though it went against orders.

[Captain Hilts]

22. It's legally a Big No No without special permission - THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED. nt

[AuntPatsy]

3. Can this article have the effect in which the commander becomes the kennel overseer?

what good is having a military that follows orders when those orders are obviously not the right ones being given? I don't get it? How can any military person find this acceptable and something to admire?

[intheflow]

18. Doubtful the article will serve any such purpose

since it was published 4 years ago. I'm sure the commander is not working the kennels.

[lolly]

5. Should be recognized publically as heroes now

Obama or someone representing him should do it.

Knowing what we know now, about how much of the "neglect" in NOLA was policy from up high, it should be those issuing orders to ignore families waiting on rooftops who should be reprimanded and demoted.

[Louisiana1976]

11. Yes--the copter pilots are heroes.

And a war crimes tribunal or truth commission should be set up to sort out who on high was guilty of the negligence in NOLA so those who gave the orders can receive their just desserts.

[Ikonoklast]

6. The Republicans went out of their way to prove that government is the problem.

Since there was no way to profit from rescuing Katrina victims, they were supposed to either rescue themselves or just die.

And anyone that went against the neocon free-marketeer trying to kill the government mantra was punished accordingly. These guys showed that the government CAN actually do good when allowed to, and suffered for it.

Guys I want on my team, anytime.

[Louisiana1976]

13. About Katrina victims being supposed to either rescue themselves or die--

Not only were Navy copter pilots not allowed to rescue them, private citizens who wanted to rescue were prevented from entering the flood zone. What happened to the victims was pure, all-around murder.

[MadMaddie]

17. It goes beyond that

Even big coporations were prevented from helping. Amtrak was evacuating it's trains and offered to load the trains with citizens to get them out of the way...FEMA gave a resounding no....

This was intentional!

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. Transporting supplies to military bases and protecting kennel dogs that belonged to servicemen.

Um. Aren't these people bound to protect us. Shouldn't they be transporting supplies to emergency center?

What a crazy world we live in. I have seen so many social mores destroyed, especially by Air Force personnel. Retired as well as active. They seem to feel they have the right to cut corners because they're serving in the military. Except, that they break the rules in the civilian capacity and there is no doubt that they're doing it to improve the situation for themselves and their families.

And then you have this Navy pilot who breaks the rules to save lives, our lives, and he gets reprimanded for it.

I just don't get it.

[Louisiana1976]

14. I don't get it either-and here's something else I don't get.

In about 2 weeks we will be comemmorating 9/11 with the usual ceremonies lauding the heroes of that day. Why don't we have something like that for the heroes of Katrina and the flood?

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. Who makes up these rules anyways?

Why can't WE decide who the heroes were?

[The Backlash Cometh]

16. Self delete for duplication

[DemReadingDU]

12. Pacific hurricane Jimena is now category 4

8/30/09 With winds of 135 mph, Hurricane Jimena was approaching Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Sunday as a Category 4 storm, forecasters said. "There's a good chance this system could be a Category 5 in the next 24 hours," said Dave Roberts, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center.

more...
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/08/30/hurricane.jimena/index.html

[1776Forever]

20. Wow - The Obama Admin should reinstate them to full duty class & bring this up to the public!

I would hope it wasn't too late to give them back their rank and pay for this heroic effort! Anyone know if that could be done?

Thank you to all these brave pilots and rescuers! If not here your reward will be in heaven!

[Festivito]

21. Instead, their UNDISCLOSED UNINVESTIGATED superiors ... /nt

[rudy23]

23. Our failure to investigate the Katrina response will ensure it happens again.

That was genocide on TV, and America mostly accepted it.