Army prepares for round two as Rita approaches

16,000 Troops poised to roll

NEW ORLEANS – Three weeks after the Gulf Coast was pummeled by Hurricane Katrina, Army emergency responders there are preparing for the possibility of a second round of severe weather from Hurricane Rita.

After Rita hit the Florida Keys with winds up to 100 mph, the storm gained in strength over the warm Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center reported that as of 8 a.m. Wednesday, Rita had intensified to a category 4 hurricane, with sustained winds of 135 mph. It was moving westward at 14 mph toward the coast of Texas or possibly areas of Louisiana already devastated by Katrina.

Relief supplies staged

In Florida, the state’s Department of Military Affairs began preparing for Hurricane Rita Sept. 18. The National Guard’s emergency operations center in St. Augustine had already been activated since Katrina and is now coordinating operations for Hurricane Rita….

The U.S. Northern Command established Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., as an operational staging area to pre-position food, water and ice at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. NORTHCOM requested approval from the Joint Staff for four heavy-lift and four medium-lift helicopters to be forward-staged at Patrick Air Force Base, near Cocoa Beach, Fla., and available for potential damage assessments.

To prepare for the storm’s possible landfall along the Gulf of Mexico coastline, NORTHCOM planners said they are watching the storm closely to identify what and when further resources may be needed. They said commitment of resources will be wholly dependent on the track the storm takes and the areas impacted.

NORTHCOM identifies ‘hurricane havens’

Potential hurricane havens and avoidance areas are being identified, NORTHCOM officials said, so that military members working in the Gulf region on Katrina recovery operations do not become victims of Hurricane Rita.

There are currently 13,753 active-duty and 39,833 National Guard forces supporting relief operations in the Katrina Joint Operating Area — Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, NORTHCOM officials reported.

Corps prepping in New Orleans

In New Orleans, work continues around the clock to repair damaged canal walls and levees in the city’s flood protective barrier. More than 800 filled sandbags are on hand, and Corps of Engineers officials said another 2,500 have been ordered.

The flood protection system of southeastern Louisiana does not ensure the city will be protected from flooding resulting from storms or hurricanes, stressed Col. Richard Wagenaar, the Corps’ New Orleans District commander. We are working with our federal, state, local and contractor partners to ensure we are prepared to respond to the storm.

Working with local levee districts and drainage authorities, the Corps has begun re-distributing pumps, construction equipment and materials to municipalities for emergency response.

In addition to materials, we have also pre-positioned contractors throughout the region to rapidly respond after severe weather, Wagenaar said.

Since landfall of Hurricane Katrina, the Corps has been performing detailed assessments of about 350 miles of hurricane levees and developing a comprehensive, prioritized plan to repair them and their associated pumping stations.

Texas prepares for contingency

To prepare for the storm’s possible landfall in Texas, 1,100 Texas National Guard troops who had been working in Louisiana have been redeployed home. Troops returning will reset at Camp Swift, near Bastrop, Texas, and will serve as reserve support forces if necessary, according to the governor’s office.

Texas Army National Guard personnel moved AH-64 Apache helicopters from Houston to Austin Sept. 20 to safeguard them from possible hurricane winds and storm surge.

At the same time, other Texas troops were preparing to respond to the storm threatening the coast. The governor requested 1,750 National Guard troops pre-position as Joint Task Force Rita between Austin and San Antonio.

JTF Rita includes three CH-47 Chinooks, six UH-60 Black Hawks and two OH-58 Kiowa helicopters. The Soldiers are poised to conduct missions that include rescue, medical, transportation, distribution of supplies, security and road clearing.