Sorry for another thread, but I thought this was interesting. Guy on the laughatrice.com forums posted this today.
Crazy.
Originally posted by Obscure
Sorry, haven't posted here in ages. Just wanted to let you know I've been in New Orleans since Sep. 2nd with the Oklahoma National Guard as part of Task Force Red Thunder (part of the Joint Task Force Orleans - Oklahoma). We arrived at the Morial Convention Center on the 3rd. We just missed seeing the last of the 30,000 some thousand refugees leave here (there were even more at the superdome, which I've also seen first hand). When we got here we were locked and loaded. We heard gun shots as our long 300+ truck convoy rolled through the dark city at night. The convention center (a mile long building by the way), was not secure. I personally saw 6 dead bodies at the North side of the building...all were murdered. The one that sticks out in my head was the old lady slumped over in her wheel chair with blood down the side of her head and pooled on the ground. Pretty graphic stuff. There was also about a 300 lb man beside a young girl. In another area there were two women lying fairly close together. We were thinking that hallway was either used for raping...or just where they took the dead. Could have been both.
For the first week we were here we did search and rescue missions in cooperation with local, state, and federal police. We have large 8x8 trucks that can forde deep water. I saw some gruesome sights. Things I still don't want to talk about...but the images are still in my mind, as clear as when I first saw them. Hell, I even saw a monkey in a tree. We evaced several people that just couldn't take the water and filth any longer. We ran into many that wanted to stay. Some would swim up to our truck, thank us for offering help, and then refuse any. Noting we can do about it. I saw dogs floating in back yards...the water not high enough for them to swim over the fence. I saw several dogs left tied up on their porch. I was really glad to see animal control people down there taking care of the animals a few days after we arrived.
Back at the convention center where we had, and still have a LZ and evacuation point, I helped a lady with what few belongings she had get medical attention. She had a nasty infection on her leg...she had been in the water, and had to use bleach to treat her leg. She later made it to dry ground on an overpass and was stranded there for several days. Her face was severely sunburned, and all she could talk about was how much she missed her dog, a 4 year old Boxer. Her leg was bad enough they sent her out on a UH-60 Blackhawk instead of by bus.
After the search and rescue started to settle down, we were put on several security missions. We guarded 12 of the water pumping stations. That was probably the easiest mission I had. The civilian workers hooked us up with REAL food. Damn MRE's get old after a while. Lately I've been working at the convention center LZ. Giving landing and take off clearance as well as pulling security. It's a high visibility area lol. So far I've met the Louisianna governer, Gen. Honere, the Louisianna Adjutant General (he gave us all coins), and the All American Airborne Division Commander.
Now we are preparing for the possibility of Hurricane Rita hitting here. The Texas national guard has left, and the Puerto Rico national guard will be leaving soon as well (thank god...the bastards try to steal everything that isn't nailed down). It looks like the Oklahoma National Guard will be down here for a while.
I have a shitload of pictures on my phone...but since my phone quit working after the second week here, I dunno if I'll be able to recover them. There are several people in my unit that have taken pictures though. We plan on putting them all together when we get back.
God damn Fire Guard is boring...I'm on duty from 0300 to 0500. Somehow I always get the crappy shifts that cut into my sleep time...I'd rather have the first shift since I'm usually up that late anyways. At least we have the internet in here...for now. Oh yeah, did I mention we are actually staying IN the convention center now...after we cleaned up all the shit and piss all over the floors in this section of the building (this is a huge building with large open bays). This damn place is a giant biohazard if you ask me...they are just now sending in crews to clean up all the mess left in the front lobby. It's nasty...I'll show you pictures when I get back. I swear these people shit and pissed on every damn thing they could. I understand not having running water...I understand that 30,000 people in one place is terrible...but damn, cant you at least shit on the big ass grassy area behind the building instead of all over the concrete and on the little battery powered carts. fucking animals.
Oh well, that's just a glimpse into my world for the past few weeks. Don't know when I'll be online again. Sory I haven't been here in a while. You guys have always been great to me. Later.
For the first week we were here we did search and rescue missions in cooperation with local, state, and federal police. We have large 8x8 trucks that can forde deep water. I saw some gruesome sights. Things I still don't want to talk about...but the images are still in my mind, as clear as when I first saw them. Hell, I even saw a monkey in a tree. We evaced several people that just couldn't take the water and filth any longer. We ran into many that wanted to stay. Some would swim up to our truck, thank us for offering help, and then refuse any. Noting we can do about it. I saw dogs floating in back yards...the water not high enough for them to swim over the fence. I saw several dogs left tied up on their porch. I was really glad to see animal control people down there taking care of the animals a few days after we arrived.
Back at the convention center where we had, and still have a LZ and evacuation point, I helped a lady with what few belongings she had get medical attention. She had a nasty infection on her leg...she had been in the water, and had to use bleach to treat her leg. She later made it to dry ground on an overpass and was stranded there for several days. Her face was severely sunburned, and all she could talk about was how much she missed her dog, a 4 year old Boxer. Her leg was bad enough they sent her out on a UH-60 Blackhawk instead of by bus.
After the search and rescue started to settle down, we were put on several security missions. We guarded 12 of the water pumping stations. That was probably the easiest mission I had. The civilian workers hooked us up with REAL food. Damn MRE's get old after a while. Lately I've been working at the convention center LZ. Giving landing and take off clearance as well as pulling security. It's a high visibility area lol. So far I've met the Louisianna governer, Gen. Honere, the Louisianna Adjutant General (he gave us all coins), and the All American Airborne Division Commander.
Now we are preparing for the possibility of Hurricane Rita hitting here. The Texas national guard has left, and the Puerto Rico national guard will be leaving soon as well (thank god...the bastards try to steal everything that isn't nailed down). It looks like the Oklahoma National Guard will be down here for a while.
I have a shitload of pictures on my phone...but since my phone quit working after the second week here, I dunno if I'll be able to recover them. There are several people in my unit that have taken pictures though. We plan on putting them all together when we get back.
God damn Fire Guard is boring...I'm on duty from 0300 to 0500. Somehow I always get the crappy shifts that cut into my sleep time...I'd rather have the first shift since I'm usually up that late anyways. At least we have the internet in here...for now. Oh yeah, did I mention we are actually staying IN the convention center now...after we cleaned up all the shit and piss all over the floors in this section of the building (this is a huge building with large open bays). This damn place is a giant biohazard if you ask me...they are just now sending in crews to clean up all the mess left in the front lobby. It's nasty...I'll show you pictures when I get back. I swear these people shit and pissed on every damn thing they could. I understand not having running water...I understand that 30,000 people in one place is terrible...but damn, cant you at least shit on the big ass grassy area behind the building instead of all over the concrete and on the little battery powered carts. fucking animals.
Oh well, that's just a glimpse into my world for the past few weeks. Don't know when I'll be online again. Sory I haven't been here in a while. You guys have always been great to me. Later.
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