The Category 4 hurricane Helene’s disaster last week in the American Southeast has naturally drawn similarities to the Hurricane Katrina answer from 2005. As a veteran of military transportation, I can ensure that the reply from Presidents Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to this round of widespread suffering was far worse than national actions taken following Katrina.
In August of 2005, I was a U. S. Army captain serving on the Army workers in the Pentagon. I worked as a shift officer in the National Military Command Center ( NMCC ) for hurricane support operations before Hurricane Katrina even came close to making landfall. This was the pinnacle of a non-combat goal I had been working on since I was initially commissioned: operations for disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.
This extra vision of all logisticians was something that defined a significant portion of my military career, from the Wyoming fires in 1988 when I was only a first lieutenant to the hurricane Fran while I was serving as a key in the 82nd Airborne Division, through the charitable missions the assistance battalion of the 82nd I commanded in Afghanistan accomplished, and through the numerous training events and “orders drills” I endured in this area. As a result, I had the honor of being a part of the national assistance for Katrina.
Despite false reports of disappointment in the media, my time serving in the NMCC was enthralled and impressed by how effectively our government supported the most vulnerable Americans in Katrina. Nothing comes more satisfying than making a difference for your fellow Americans, so I ( now a long-retired veteran ) paid close attention to Hurricane Helene, anticipating the same robust military and federal support. I can tell you that I was horribly disappointed by the national response’s tardiness and incompetence.
Why did this happen? Why did our government, which is the “muscle” of national disaster response, watch Helene mainly from the sidelines when FEMA is just a coordinating staff agency?  ,
I want to hear. I suppose you do as well.
Katrina vs. Helene
Helene and Katrina are roughly comparable disasters even though Katrina hit the urban setting of New Orleans ( population: ~ 455, 000 ), whereas Helene was across a region with only one major population center ( Asheville, population ~94, 000 ). In Katrina, 2 million citizens lost enduring authority, in Helene, that number was closer to 1.5 million. Yes, New Orleans is on the lake, and the worst effects of Hurricane Katrina were mostly concentrated in rock grooves, but I would contend that this makes aid for Helene patients harder than it was for Katrina victims.
Much has been made in the press that on Oct. 2, about a week after Helene made land, President Joe Biden authorized 1, 000 men of the 82nd Airborne Division to help Helene comfort operations, but let’s compare that with Katrina help, shall we?
First, let’s be clear: In both disasters, state National Guard units performed valiantly under the command and control of their state governors. However, the problems with National Guard units in a given state are twofold. First, state National Guard units frequently lack the full range of combat, combat support, and combat service support units found at bases so close to the Helene disaster, such as Fort Campbell in Kentucky, Fort Liberty and Camp LeJeune in North Carolina, and Fort Stewart in Georgia. Second, state National Guard units frequently have their homes and armories directly in the path of the disaster, which makes it difficult to offer fulsome support.
In order to aid in disaster relief operations, active military units are essential, especially in a region with such robust active military capabilities as America’s Southeast.
Let’s compare Katrina with Helene. In Katrina, a three-star general was placed in command, along with the two-star commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, with a full Airborne Infantry Brigade task force of the 82nd, a corps-support logistics command of thousands of soldiers, a signal battalion, a combat support hospital, robust Army engineer assets, and countless other support units. These units were all placed on standby lists days before Katrina struck.
In contrast, a week after Helene hit, a tiny 1, 000-troop Airborne Infantry Battalion task force of the 82nd (one-third the size of a brigade ) was given a warning order under the ground command of a mere one-star general. These forces are without the medical, engineer, corps-level logistics, signal/communications, and Division/Army HQ command and control capabilities that defined Katrina support.
How about the Marines? In Katrina, they sent 2, 600 Marines, under the command of a two-star Marine Division commanding general. According to Helene, the USMC has not been given the task to send a single damn Marine, as far as I can tell after doing extensive web research and quizzing my X followers.
Since New Orleans is an ocean port and the mountains of North Carolina are not, the Navy is probably not a fair comparison, but the Navy sent a carrier task force, a hospital ship, along with 63 aircraft after Katrina. For Helene, the Navy has sent 10 helicopters.
Coast Guard? They are a blue-water force, yes, but their ability to make a huge difference in North Carolina’s hills would be incredible. 43 aircraft were sent to carry out search and rescue operations almost immediately after Katrina struck the ground. The Coast Guard in Helene lost control of its area, but it did have some time to assist a few people and rescue five animals.
The Air Force’s airlift capabilities are largely strategic, but in Katrina, they were busy evacuating thousands of injured and displaced people. It appears that they are mostly focused on repairing their own airfields and not much else after Helene. Given that their C-130s might be collaborating closely with Fort Liberty’s parachute riggers to prepare essential supplies for airdrop, this is odd. Guess not.
The folks trapped in the hollows of North Carolina’s mountains need helicopter support most of all, to receive essential food, water, and construction and medical supplies, and to evacuate the stranded, the elderly, the sick, and the injured. If you review the links I included above, you’ll see that hundreds of active-duty helicopters were involved in Katrina. As for Helene, if you look at the DOD’s press releases, it looks like 28 active-duty helicopters are thinking about maybe getting involved as of Sept. 30.  ,
Why So Bad?
The Biden-Harris administration’s federal response to Helen has been horrific, if not criminal, and I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out why it’s been so bad. Creating a list of every possible explanation, no matter how remote, I pressure-tested this list with my followers on X, many of whom are active duty, reserves, National Guard, or retired military. In light of this, here is the complete, curated list ( in no particular order ) of all the possible causes of active-duty military deployments in North Carolina not yet being en masse to aid in disaster relief:
1. In terms of not laying down red tape and cutting through red tape, the Biden-Harris administration is utterly incompetent.
There is nothing Biden or Harris can do, according to one of the criticisms I’ve received from Harris supporters on X. Although this is technically accurate, I think the Stafford Act is utterly accurate. Any competent president could pressure any governor into accepting federal support. Which governor wants the president to criticize them on television? Biden’s failure to get this “request” quickly is sheer incompetence.
2. Units based in the southeastern U. S.— like the 101st Airborne Division ( Air Assault ), the 82nd Airborne Division, the XVIII Airborne Corps, and the 2nd Marine Division — are currently under classified deployment or standby orders to deploy to Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Taiwan, or some other world hotspot, and they therefore cannot spare their units at this moment in time.
Because of how likely it may be, this one worries me. Additionally, significant components of the 101st, the 3rd Infantry Division, and the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command have significant units deployed to Eastern Europe and the Middle East, lowering support capabilities there.
3. Nobody outside the military is aware of the significantly lower classified readiness rates of America’s military helicopters and their crews.
Is this it? I’m hoping not because these units are assisting global war effort missions. Also, when discussing military helicopters, it’s important to understand that with maintenance and” crew rest” requirements, however many helos you have, you really only have about 40 percent of them available for missions at any single point in time.
4. Hurricane Helene damaged most military helicopters in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, and that fact is being kept secret.
This one seems improbable. Helene did not seriously damage Fort Campbell and Fort Liberty, and military aviation organizations have established procedures for avoiding dangerous weather by flying their aircraft.
5. With the few assets currently in use, the active-duty military’s assets are not necessary, and those few assets are completely sufficient to accomplish the mission.
You’ve seen the news. I have, too. This one seems absurd.
6. It is impossible to establish forward bases for the helicopters to operate from due to the conditions on the ground, the availability of aviation support units, and/or the availability of aviation fuel.
Again, this one seems hard to believe. The bases I mentioned have millions of gallons of JP-8 (aviation fuel ) in underground storage tanks that can be moved using military fuel tankers to forward locations.
7. The Biden-Harris administration and/or the Democratic Governor of North Carolina are intentionally and maliciously denying or putting off the use of these assets for nefarious purposes, such as making sure red counties in North Carolina cannot support Donald Trump’s candidacy.
The day after Helene made landfall, this seemed like just another conspiracy theory. Now, a week later, not so much. Do Democrats have this bad blood? You tell me. I have to assume that they are aware of and enjoy this aspect of the disaster. It has been discussed at the Harris-Walz campaign’s headquarters, I would wager a paycheck. Do you have any doubts?
There are no other plausible explanations for what we see at this time, in my opinion. My X supporters believe that the answer is most likely a combination of Nos. 1, 2, and 7. I agree with them. Do n’t let any Democrat voter claim that Harris and Biden appropriately responded to Helene because the Katrina response reveals a completely different story.
Why do they behave so disrespectfully toward the common American? Is it negligence? Are our global commitments to never-ending wars? Or is it something far more sinister?  ,
You decide on Nov. 5.
You can follow Cynical Publius on X at @CynicalPublius.
