FEMA Fumbles Again: Naval Resources Left Idle in Hurricane Milton Response

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So what I glean from this article is that FEMA:

FEMA’s disaster response system is fundamentally flawed. Time and again, we’ve witnessed the same predictable cycle: relief supplies positioned directly in the path of impending storms

Who’da thunk it, putting materials in the areas where they will be needed most after the storm, yet somehow is this post-apocalyptic world:

Even if these supplies are stored high and dry in well-built structures, roads will likely be blocked, requiring them to be helicoptered to the densely packed and hardest-hit areas near the coast.

So somehow all the lift falls USCG helicopters which are unable to handle the lift post-storm due to well, the USCG being the redheadead stepchild of the armed forces. The epitome of “do more with less”. I suppose the Florida ANG or US Army/USN is not in the picture right? Truthfully, probably not with their “Publicity at Any Cost” governor.

But wait, the US Army pitifully small fleet in their Watercraft Corps that could be the answer! so long as they could be loaded, prepositioned and ready to go at a moments notice from…oh wait thats right, the US Army/DOD and not FEMA has elected to get rid of the entire fleet and those that were able to get to Israel and back are now probably beat to hell and waiting on overhaul that is probably not coming since they are on the chopping block anyway.

So then its its NMSV’s to the rescue, which MARAD/TOTE have clearly fucked up to the point they are barely usable or reliable or OK for acceptance (as reported on this site) and then the 1 East Coast AH up in Baltimore, which I believe is on a ROS-5 callup. Meaning on Sunday when the storm was forecast to go nuclear it would still be Friday before it would even be ready to sail. Then they’d have to steam down to Tampa and begin relief work. Good thing that:

Ships don’t have these problems. They can carry enough of their own fuel to operate for months and can sail right behind the hurricane, pulling into port immediately after the destructive winds hit.

Except for the fact that not only will the roads be so inaccessible we have to rely on the USCG, but how about the ports and channels? There’s going to be a multitude of debris in any major port area, so are you saying we just mash a new channel in there through the wrecked houses, Donzi’s and misc debris and wing it? Oh wait, they can anchor offshore but then they’ll be at the mercy of the oh so overstrained, underperforming US Coast Guard. Again, no airborne US Army or Reserve help from the Florida ANG/US Army/USN is possible for some reason.

Can The US Navy Help?

Yes. But:

The Navy is grappling with significant manpower shortages that could lead to the sidelining of 17 support ships operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC).

How is this a FEMA problem again?

But of course, just in case the Anti-FEMA diatribe nonsensical politicized jib-jabber of this dirtbag hit piece isn’t clear enough, you have to ice the cake with this gem:

The clock is ticking, and FEMA could order these ships to Florida today, but it’s highly unlikely they will. Instead, they’ll wait until citizens are outraged and political pressure is at its peak. Then they’ll call for the ships, but it will be too late to help. All they’ll accomplish is redirecting the media’s attention away from Washington, D.C.

I can’t imagine I have to say this to a Captain who purports to understand maritime matters, but do you understand how the MARAD fleet works? Do you know what ROS status stands for? It takes days or weeks to activate these vessels to even throw lines let alone steam to destination.

Spouting out this article at a time when FEMA distrust is at a politicized high due to huge amounts of misinformation is inherently dangerous to the people who are going to have their lives upended in the next 36-48hrs and you and your editors should frankly should be ashamed for posting such a poorly thought out and inflammatory piece of drivel. Shit reporting like this will get people killed.

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“The Maritime Administration (MARAD) possesses ships [designated for disaster relief], yet they’re consistently activated after the storm has passed—when the need is most urgent and media pressures on government failures are most intense—but the response is too late.“

Hunh, let’s take a look at what the linked “evidence” to support “consistently activated after the storm has passed” says:

“ As Hurricane Gustav approached the US East and Gulf Coast, NDRF/RRF ships and school training ships remained on alert. The Maritime Administration activated the Maritime Command Center in Washington and their regional counterparts. The Maritime Administration reviewed plans to assist the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and prepared to activate vessels for relief operations and for chartering commercial vessels if necessary.
As Gustav got closer to land fall, the City of Beaumont, the local U.S. Coast Guard, and the Army Corps of Engineers requested that their vehicles and boat trailers be moved on to the RRF vessel CAPE VINCENT (SafeStor). The ship is moored at a hurricane strengthened layberth in the port of Beaumont, TX that is designed to protect ships during storms. USTRANSCOM approved the request and on August 29, the Coast Guard started moving aboard. They finished on September 1 just before Gustav hit Louisiana near Morgan City. They learned in 2005 after Hurricane Rita that a ship is a good place to be during this type of an event.
Even though Gustav hit near New Orleans, the CAPE KENNEDY and CAPE KNOX, which are located there, were not affected. However, they prepared for hurricane force winds and were ready to provide SafeStor capability for local emergency responders as well.
On September 2, as Tropical Storm Hanna approached the East Coast, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Department requested protection for their emergency equipment. Later, the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center requested assistance too. They were aware of the protection capability afforded by RRF ships during planning discussions and knew the ships in the old Charleston Naval Ship Yard were available. Approvals were given and the CAPE EDMONT was designated as the SafeStor vessel. Approximately 30 vehicles and trailered boats from the Charleston, SC Sheriff’s Dept and other Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies moved aboard the CAPE EDMONT at the MARAD RRF ROS layberth in Charleston. Even though Hanna failed to strengthen and moved north, the real-event exercise was valuable and is expected to be repeated for future storms.
Just hours before the forecasted landfall of Hurricane Ike, the City of Beaumont, Texas, Jefferson County Texas, and the U.S. Coast Guard loaded over 140 vehicles including 8 ambulances, 19 boats and 3 helicopters on board the CAPE VINCENT. As wind speed increased, CAPE VINCENT and its sister ship CAPE VICTORY also provided a safe haven for over 160 emergency first responders, Coast Guard, and National Guard personnel. The emergency responders and their equipment safely rode out Hurricane Ike and by 10 AM on Saturday morning, they were able to off-load equipment from the vessel and begin Search and Rescue (SAR) operations. Both ships continued to support a 50-person Coast Guard SAR team and provide a home base for local government emergency response managers well after the storm left the area. A local newspaper reporter and photographer, from the Beaumont Enterprise, were on the CAPE VINCENT to cover the story and later published an article titled “First responder’s wait for Ike aboard ship in Beaumont’s port”.”

Wait for storm, then analyze response. If you’re not actively in the ESF, maybe hold judgment. Playing politics with this is not helpful.

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Dirtbag hitpeice?

It clearly says it’s been a problem across administrations:

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And it mentions repeatedly what a total clusterF the hurricane Maria response was

Maria happened during Trump’s administration

This piece wasn’t about nailing a candidate it was about military resources being unavailable or called too late

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That’s the most poorly written article I’ve read in a long time.what’s the source. I hope it’s not ours

Maybe try to put it into ChatGPT and ask it to edit for clarity cause I don’t know what you’re trying to say here

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Oh I see now it’s from the linked MARAD document (no wonder it’s so poorly written)

Yes as I said in the article we used to do this frequently but haven’t in the last 3 administrations

Since then we have waited until it’s too late to be of much use

No then because it takes days for the committee in DC to decide, days more to load the ships, and days to sail down

What exactly is the harm in loading them now??

That’s not how journalism works and you know it

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Holy cow! You don’t even recognize the article you linked as evidence??! You have clearly thought long and hard, made a critical examination of all the evidence before drawing your conclusions and hitting print.

I do? Why do I know it? Assumptions take the place of facts in your “journalism” a lot, don’t they?

Perhaps it’s not how journalism works online these days, but that doesn’t mean it’s “good” journalism. But since your piece is a thinly veiled op-ed instead of serious journalism, we don’t have to worry about such a discussion.

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I just said the document I linked to is evidence we did this 16 years ago

That’s a long time ago. This article is about out failure to do it now (and under trump)

What’s the problem??

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And why didn’t you blast me for being biased when we published the same core anger and frustrations after Trump sold watercraft off at auction and bungled the Hurricane Maria response??

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Or if you want ones I wrote critical of trump’s marad the site is littered with them

Here’s one of my favorite:

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Does that article also make me a dirtbag journalist? :roll_eyes:

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Af hominem attacks and not acting in good faith.

Thread closed and suspended