The Associated Press reports that Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, waited roughly five hours after Katrina made landfall on August 29, before he sought the approval from Homeland Security Secretary Mike Chertoff to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security workers to support rescuers in the region.
Just as bad, Brown gave them two days to arrive said that among duties of these employees was to "convey a positive image" about the government's response for victims. All this in a memo which described Katrina as "this near catastrophic event."
To be fair, FEMA had positioned smaller rescue and communications teams across the Gulf Coast prior to Brown's soon to be famous memo.
Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said the 48-hour period suggested for the Homeland employees was to ensure they had adequate training. "They were training to help the life-savers," Knocke said.
Brown's memo is available here in pdf format and I have posted the text of the memo in the extended post.
I have avoided criticizing the government's relief effort, believing it was more important to focus on what was needed to help the victims and that the disaster was too immense to expect a better response. After reading Brown's smoking gun memo, I believe he would help the relief effort if he would step down. The perception, even if it may prove incorrect later, is that Brown bungled the initial response. The memo, by failing to convey an appropriate sense of urgency and expressing concern about public relations will make it impossible for Brown to be perceived as the kind of take charge leader needed to head FEMA.
Spokesman Knocke's explanation that the 48 hours were to ensure workers were trained is more bovine fecal matter. Why weren't DHS employees already trained?
Brown just doesn't get it and should resign or President Bush should fire him, soon.
Office of the Under Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
500 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20472
FEMA
August 29,2005
MEMORANDUM TO: Michael Chertoff
Secretary of Homeland Security
FROM: Michael D. Brown
Under Secretary
SUBJECT: DHS Response to Katrina
We are requesting your assistance to make available DHS employees willing to deploy as soon as possible for a two-week minimum field assignment to serve in a variety of positions. We anticipate needing at least 1000 additional DHS employees within 48 hours and 2000 within 7 days. Attached is a list of requirements that employees will have to meet before deploying.
It is beneficial to use DHS employees as it allows us to be more efficient responding to the needs of this disaster and it reinforces the Department's All-Hazard's Capabilities. Also, DHS employees already have background investigations, travel cards and badges, all items that normally delay filling our surge workforce. FEMA Response and Recovery operations are a top priority of the Department and as we know, one of yours.
We will also want to identify staf fwith specialized skills suchas bilingual capabilities,
Commercial Driver's License (CDL), and logistics capabilities.
Thank you for your consideration in helping us meet our responsibilities in this near catastrophic event.
Attachment
cc: Michael P. Jackson
Deputy Secretary
Janet Hale
Under Secretary for Management
www.fema.gov
Attachment
Requirements:
You must have your supervisor's approval.
Contact your Human Resource Office to follow-up with FEMA Human Resource Office
You must be physically able to work in a disaster area without refrigeration for
medications and have the ability to work in the outdoors all day.
Must be willing to work long hours under arduous conditions.
Role of Assigned Personnel:
Establish and maintain positive working relationships with disaster affected communities and the citizens of those communities.
Collect and disseminate information and make referrals for appropriate assistance.
Identification of potential issues within the community and reporting to appropriate
personnel.
Convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community
organizations and the general public.
Perform outreach with community leaders on available Federal disaster assistance.
Training will be provided:
A roster of available personnel will be developed and made available as components
identify personnel for deployment.
Selected personnel from the roster will be given training in Emmitsburg, Maryland,
Atlanta, Georgia and Orlando, Florida, before you are deployed to the field.
You will be expected to use government credit cards (in good standing) for
transportation, lodging, meals and other incidentals.
Contact your agency financial officer for information on obtaining government credit
card (if you do not hold one).
Point of Contact to accept and process your assignment:
Human Resource Operations Branch, 202-646-4040
You will be walked through the system for further processing and deployment.
Deployment Information:
Selected personnel will either go to Atlanta, Georgia for Community Relations Training
or Orlando, Florida for all other Training and assignments. After which they will be
deployed to a disaster Joint Field Office (FCO) when conditions are safe. Some
organizational clothing and equipment will be supplied.
Type of personal supplies you should bring:
Sunscreen
Sun hat
Sun Glasses
Walking shoes
Mosquito repellant
Medication (both over the counter and prescriptions)
Valid driver's license
Government ill
Cash (ATMs may not be working)
Government equipment (cell phones, computers, blackberries, etc)
Appropriate clothing (walking shorts acceptable)
Rain gear
Technorati Tags: flood aid, Hurricane Katrina
Gordon, President Bush's August 27, 2005 declaration of federal emergency assistance for Louisiana "ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts in the parishes located in the path of Hurricane Katrina beginning on August 26, 2005, and continuing."
The President authorized FEMA to "identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency."
President Bush gave FEMA its "marching orders."
Posted by: California Yankee | Wednesday, September 07, 2005 at 10:05 PM
I have addressed Matthew's comments in a new post -
FEMA: It's More Than Brown.
Posted by: California Yankee | Wednesday, September 07, 2005 at 09:47 PM
Stop shilling for the liberals. We know that Brown had to wait for local and state officials to institute their plans before he could do anything.
FEMA is a coordinating agency - it does not just intervene in state matters when it wants to. It has to be given marching orders.
Posted by: Gordon Jones | Wednesday, September 07, 2005 at 08:22 PM
I can't argue with you that Brown should go. He failed badly. But in a way, that's too easy a response. I really worry that his resignation or firing would obscure the more fundamental problems, by deflecting rather than focusing accountability.
1. The chief executive himself hired this man, despite his lack of any obvious qualifications.
2. The chief executive himself apparently failed to exercise the level of command and attention that the impending disaster required.
3. But even focusing the accountablity on the President misses still more fundamental problems. As I have been arguing over at Fruits and Votes in various posts, the more significant issue is not personal, but institutional. FEMA's subordination inside DHS and attendant downgrading (a bipartisan decision, by the way) virtually guaranteed that it would have less presidential attention (thereby worsening problem 2 and perhaps being an underlying reason for problem 1).
Posted by: Matthew Shugart | Wednesday, September 07, 2005 at 01:19 PM