Military failed on Katrina communications: admiral By Charles Aldinger
28 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military failed to provide adequate emergency communications for Hurricane Katrina response, contributing to days of confusion after the storm devastated Mississippi and Louisiana, the admiral in charge of domestic defense forces said on Thursday.
"The devastation was so complete, so comprehensive ... that we couldn't figure out how bad it was," Vice Adm. Timothy Keating said of the lack of satellite telephones or working cellphones carried by aid troops sent to the U.S. Gulf Coast last month.
"They (telephones) weren't there for Katrina because we just didn't think to put them in there for Katrina," added Keating, chief of the U.S. military's Northern Command, in response to questions from defense reporters.
The federal government, as well as local and state authorities, has been strongly criticized for a slow initial response to the crisis.
National Guard troops, federal aid workers and state and local police have complained that they could not communicate for days on the scope of the disaster after Katrina swept ashore, snapping power and telephone lines, knocking down cellphone relay towers, causing massive flooding and killing more than 1,000 people.
Keating said working satellite telephones were given to troops ahead of hurricane Rita's subsequent assault on Texas and Louisiana and that the military was now working with federal and local officials to develop common links for future natural disasters or any attack on the United States.
"On Tim Keating's list of things we need to work and to analyze very carefully, communications is at the top of that list," the admiral said.
He said common mobile telephones could include current off-the-shelf commercial systems, new military or commercial units or simply moving current military systems into place more quickly.
"Any and all" systems with reasonable cost will be considered, Keating told reporters.
"We are working as hard as we can across the federal government, not just the Department of Defense. the (National) Guard folks are doing that, the state and the sheriffs and local beat cops," he said.
"We're going to take it on as a significant issue so that we can talk to each other as quickly after a natural event or man-made event occurs so we can get better situational awareness."
Keating's command, which is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is in charge of the military's part in defending the United States from terrorist or other attack.
But President George W. Bush has also asked Congress that lawmakers consider putting the Pentagon in charge of initial response to major natural disasters. |
