Peterson Air Force Base – Northern Command, which dispatches the military to help in natural disasters, will pre-position planning and communications teams this year in areas where hurricane danger appears imminent.
The move is one of a host of “lessons learned” after last years’s federal response to Hurricane Katrina – lessons that Northern Command will apply as it prepares for the upcoming hurricane season, from June 1 to Nov. 30.
Forecasters say 2006 could be another catastrophic year because of a natural cycle of higher sea temperatures, lower wind sheer and other factors. Some scientists blame global warming.
“Katrina was our first real acid test, and we learned a lot,” said Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of Northcom and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
Northcom has adopted a number of changes to better prepare for the coming hurricane season, including:
Positioning a full-time member of the military at each of the six Federal Emergency Management Agency regional offices.
Standardizing “request for assistance” forms so that local and state governments can more quickly request military help.
Erecting cellphone towers and passing out cellphones if all communications are down, as they were in Katrina.
Northcom has already sent planners to hurricane-prone areas, including New Orleans, to develop plans for improved alert and warning systems, evacuation and shelters. Top commanders at Northcom have been meeting this spring with key leaders of the National Guard in the 10 hurricane-prone states from Texas to Virginia.
“I can’t imagine anything else we could do or should do in preparation for this summer,” Keating said.
Northcom’s primary mission is to protect the homeland, but it also coordinates the military’s disaster response if directed to do so by the secretary of defense or the president.
Northcom sent 72,000 active-duty and Guard troops to the Gulf Coast within five days after Katrina hit Aug. 29, but images of people stranded on rooftops without food prompted a firestorm of criticism.
“You have to recognize that if you work in this place, there’s an expectation from the American people of an instantaneous response,” said Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Inge, deputy commander of Northcom.
In the future, Inge said, Northcom may be more likely to say: “‘We’re watching this, and we see that the water is now knee-deep and it hasn’t stopped rising. Are you sure you don’t need our help?’ I think we need to be more anticipatory.”
Inge said the agency is also prepared to send C-130 aircraft to help fight fires, should there be a request for help from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.
“They can deploy in very short order,” Inge said.
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
