NAS JRB New Orleans Delivers Critical Hurricane Relief
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS050914-22
Release Date: 9/14/2005 11:57:00 AM
By Lt. Denise Garcia, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS (NNS) -- Hours after the worst of Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans Aug. 29, a 22-person emergency management team at Naval Air Station (NAS) Joint Reserve Base (JRB) New Orleans was surveying the damage and implementing plans to open up the airfield to receive aircraft to assist with disaster relief.
Normally, the base hosts approximately 34 tenant commands, including 85 aircraft from all branches of the service, and has about 3,000 service members and their families living in base housing.
However, the hurricane forced service members and their families to evacuate to Memphis, Tenn.; Fort Worth, Tex.; Atlanta, Ga.; and Jacksonville, Fla., among others.
According to Capt. A.J. Rizzo, the base’s commanding officer, the worst of the hurricane was over by 2 p.m. on Aug. 29, and he and his team were out surveying the base to determine how quickly the base could become operational again. He said that he was surprised how well the airfield survived the hurricane.
“The hurricane winds blew in from the northwest and swept across the runway, leaving essentially no debris or significant damage,” he said. "Some of the hangars were damaged, but the runway was able to receive Coast Guard HH-65 helicopters by 6 p.m. the same day.
Rizzo said his number one focus was to get the airfield and control tower safe to receive helicopters.
“If our airfield is up, we can save lives,” he said. NASJRB New Orleans is approximately ten miles from New Orleans and was essential to basing search and rescue (SAR) helicopters from all branches of the armed services sent to the area to assist with evacuating New Orleans residents in the critical first 72 hours."
Because the base had to evacuate everybody except the emergency management team of 22, they were faced with logistical challenges of providing manpower and other essential logistical support to sustain the incoming relief supplies, not only for the citizens of New Orleans and the surrounding areas hit hard by the hurricane, but also the thousands of service members incoming to the base to help with relief efforts.
Thousands of pounds of meals-ready-to-eat and bottles of water were received to sustain the troops.
The hurricane had knocked out power to the entire base, and generators powered the two buildings that housed the initial emergency management team. However, electricity was returned to the base within a week, and limited galley services were brought online.
A week after the hurricane, the galley was able to serve about 100 meals a day, said Rizzo. The galley is currently serving close to 4,000 meals a day and will be augmented by three other temporary galleys producing enough meals to feed another 800 people each.
Over the past two weeks, the base has seen more than 15 million pounds of cargo arrive via airlift and has hosted more than 10,000 personnel.
“Operations here evolved very quickly,” said Lt. Cmdr. Paul Prokopovich, the base’s Emergency Management Officer and Assistant Operations Officer. He said from his perspective, the biggest challenge was getting people and resources organized to handle the massive amounts of incoming cargo. “Of course, at first we were in reactionary mode, but now we have our hands wrapped around things and we have a good system to manage the comings and goings of people and cargo.”
“Berthing was another tremendous challenge to figure out,” said acting Command Master Chief Donald Shaft, of Fort Worth, Texas. Under normal conditions, the base can accommodate 700 people in the barracks, but many of the barracks sustained enough water damage to make them uninhabitable.
Shaft said service members and other volunteers were given cots and slept wherever there was space - hangars, on the airfield, in the fitness center, hallways and in office spaces.
To alleviate the berthing influx, the base has contracted to set up a tent city that will eventually house 5,000 people, provide adequate shower and toilet facilities, and include three galleys. The first phase of tent city is expected to be complete Sept. 15.
A team of 12 Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 40 from Port Hueneme, Calif., arrived at the base Sept. 1 and immediately assisted with restoring the base’s basic services.
According to Lt. Jonathan Charbonnet, NMCB 40’s Air Detachment Company Commander, they were able to assist Public Works in bringing power online and getting air conditioning functioning until more of their battalion arrived.
Currently, NMCB 40 has 264 Seabees on base and expects to have about 400 on the ground in the next week. They are scheduled to be in the area for up to four months to assist the local community in clearing and cleaning damaged areas.
“People know the Seabees are here,” said Charbonnet, “and they know our capabilities, so we’re getting a lot of direct requests for our assistance.”
So far, the Seabees have cleared enough debris to allow the base to fulfill its current mission of supporting Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. They also started the initial testing of the base’s potable water, jump-starting the process for the civil authorities to deem the water fit for cooking and drinking.
With the base up and running, the Seabees can now concentrate on assisting the local community in getting back on its feet.
Another challenge for Shaft is to bring back a sense of normalcy. “We still have issues to keep up with regarding people’s pay, rating exams, the Chiefs’ transition training, and evaluations,” he said. “Although we have all this going on, we still have to maintain a sense of normal daily operations.”
“This base has been a true success story,” said Rizzo. “USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) provided cooks, fuelers and yellow shirts to direct air traffic on the airfield and a KC-130 brought us fuel when we needed it. Whatever we needed, we got. It’s been a true joint effort,” he said.
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