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Shreveport Assists New Orleans Harbor Police in Katrina Recovery

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050910-03
Release Date: 9/10/2005 9:53:00 PM

By Lt. Cmdr. Jensin W. Sommer, USS Shreveport Public Affairs

NEW ORLEANS (NNS) -- Groups of USS Shreveport (LPD- 12) crew members worked with New Orleans Harbor Police Sept. 8.

The Sailors helped deliver food and water and conduct security patrols, while other Sailors were also hard at work helping the Harbor Police recover from the impact of Hurricane Katrina.

More than 70 Shreveport Sailors tackled the challenge of cleaning the harbor police station, which had been severely damaged by the storm. Crew members removed damaged carpeting, cleaned offices of debris, and thoroughly scrubbed and restored the station’s kitchen to be operational again. Shreveport Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Dan Garry and Culinary Specialist Seaman William Freshwater put their skills to work once the kitchen was sanitized, preparing lunch for everyone.

“It was great to be able to cook up Chicken Alfredo, spaghetti and chili for the police officers and our crew,” said Garry. “Their kitchen was really in bad shape, and it took us four hours to clean up the mess from the storm.”

It was rewarding to be able to help out the local harbor police, he added, because they’d been living in the station for days and had not been able to use the kitchen since the hurricane hit.

Other Shreveport Sailors applied their skills to repair 19 harbor police squad car tires, which had been damaged by glass and nail debris. Senior Chief Fire Controlman John Synnes and his team accompanied a harbor police officer to a local area store to have the damaged tires repaired. Upon seeing the lot full of other civilian vehicles with similar damage, Operations Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas Mateik volunteered to put his experience to work.

“I contacted the Wal-Mart manager, explained our position assisting the harbor police, and he agreed to let Mateik, Cryptologic Technician 1st Class Enrique Vidal and Cryptologic Technician Seaman Noel Flynn use the tire repair equipment,” Synnes explained. “They had the tires fixed in about two-and-a-half hours.”

Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Larry Lane accompanied the harbor police in security patrols of area buildings and delivered food and water to several families. He also assisted in providing security escort to civilians who needed to return to their flooded offices to retrieve important data and material.

“I feel that I have made a definite contribution to [the harbor police] efforts,” Lane said. “The Navy is definitely here to help New Orleans recover.”

In coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other agencies, Navy and Marine Corps assets are continuing to provide assistance to displaced persons, medical aid for affected people, mobility and logistics support, as well as assistance in restoring other critical infrastructure and civil services.

Additionally, in light of communications difficulties created by Hurricane Katrina, the Navy has established a 24-hour help line for Sailors, Navy civilians and their families to call for information. The phone number is (877) 414-5358. The line is staffed by volunteers with connectivity to FEMA and other government agencies.