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The Defense Department is tailoring its 70,000-member force supporting hurricane relief operations as needed to provide the critical capabilities required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies, defense officials said today.
The current military support force - 22,000 active-duty troops and more than 46,000 National Guardsmen - continue to provide critical security, logistical and other support, officials said.
However, Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, commander of Joint Task Force Katrina, has directed that no federal military troops be used to perform or assist with any type of forced evacuation, officials said.
Troops from the 82nd Airborne Division, 1st Cavalry Division and 1st and 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force continue to conduct humanitarian assistance, search and rescue, evacuation and security assessments. They will also mark and record locations of deceased people for mortuary teams, but will not recover the bodies, officials said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has reuqested DoD support to perform all aspects of the mortuary affairs mission until a new contractor is identified. The previous contractor, Kenyon International, withdrew its contract for undisclosed reasons, officials said.
In another new development, two C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Air Force Reserve's 910th Airlift Wing are preparing begin the first mosquito-spraying missions in the region today. The initial focus will be the New Orleans area, then outlying areas of Louisiana and Mississippi, if required, officials said.
The wing, from Youngstown, Ohio, is deployed to Duke Field, Fla., to carry out the mission.
U.S. Northern Command has also requested two fire trucks - one from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, and one from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. - to support airport operations at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
Defense officials reported these additional ongoing operational highlights:
Story by American Forces Press Service
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 07.04.2025 04:22 |
| Story ID: | 537312 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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