Blanco Incompetence Caught On Camera

Ian at the Political Teen has a video of Gov. Blanco, between network interviews, talking with her press secretary and saying that she should have asked for troops sooner. As the CNN commentator notes, Blanco’s initial requests for help from the feds did not include a request for troops – she just assumed they’d be ready to roll.

Why aren’t we reading more about post-disaster response problems in Mississippi? Here’s why:

The day before Hurricane Katrina came ashore in Mississippi on Aug. 29, the Mississippi National Guard had already been planning for the likelihood of a disaster.
“During hurricane season our operations personnel are constantly monitoring storms in the Atlantic” Mississippi Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Tim Powell said. “The Friday before the storm hit, we were tracking the storm. ”

Two days before the storm hit, the Mississippi soldiers knew the storm’s path would take it through the state’s coastal communities and officials began alerting units, primarily military police and engineers, Powell said.

Officials initially activated 750 people, and the Guard also activated its emergency operations center in Jackson, Miss. Members of the forward EOC, a team that moves into a disaster area and coordinates operations with other agencies, were also notified and reported for duty by noon the day before the storm landed.

Less than a day after the storm slammed into the coast, military police and engineers from the Mississippi Army National Guard were moved to the state’s three coastal counties.

“The military police were there to provide support to local law enforcement, and the engineers were used for search-and-recovery mission support and evacuation support” Powell said.

Hat tip for the DefenseLink: Rob at Say Anything.

(Cross-posted at BlogsForBush)