Photo By Capt. Rebekah Malone | Spc. Brent Underwood with the 1022nd Engineer Company of the 527th Engineer Battalion...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Rebekah L. Malone
225th Engineer Brigade Unit Public Affairs
PINEVILLE, La. – Immediately after Hurricane Gustav rolled through Point Coupee Parish, local agencies including Sheriff Beauregard Torres' team and the National Guard's 1022nd Vertical Engineer Company worked hand-in-hand to put the parish back together after 91 mph winds ravished the rural towns.
Several weeks after the storm passed, officials and the units of the 527th Engineer Battalion out of West Monroe, La., looked back at the cooperation that made the best of the devastation caused by the storm.
"People go through phases," Torres said.
He explained that during the first 72 hours, citizens experience a wide range of emotions as each day passes. "The first emotion felt is anxiety before the storm hits, shock and awe the day after, fatigue by day two and anger by day three," Torres said.
In order to combat the negative emotions citizens feel, he suggested agencies need to be ready to provide commodities and start giving support to the community immediately after the storm.
"If you get ahead of that curve in the shock and awe phase and the fatigue phase and you set up shop to take care of people, it changes the whole dynamics of the game and you instill morale ... our critical time is the first 72 hours," Torres said.
With less than 100 days in office, Torres might be new, but his experience and leadership helped Point Coupee use Guard resources in the most efficient manner possible.
The new sheriff described the Guard's role during hurricane operations as significant, but said local officials throughout Louisiana must understand how the Guard can help in order to assist the parishes efficiently. "I think the biggest problem most governments have is not fully understanding how the Guard can be used to their full capacity," he said.
Capt. Wynn Nugent, commander of the 1022nd, described the opportunity to work with Torres as an incredibly positive and successful cooperation that allowed the Guard to help with points of distribution for commodities, as well as road clearing and debris removal.
"The coordination with the Sheriff's office and the parish was amazing. Everyone here worked so great together," said Nugent. "The information flow kept up with the situation."
Nugent continued, "Once I met Sheriff Torres and talked to him for five minutes, I knew this guy was on top of his game."
After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated Louisiana, response plans in all agencies were scrutinized for efficiency. Hurricane Gustav gave the state the chance to examine progress on all levels.
In regards to the response of Point Coupee officials, Torres said they used a two-step plan; to protect life and property before the storm and then to quickly establish distribution points to get food and water to needy persons after the storm.
"The Guard came in and because there was an established system, embraced it, and increased productivity by modifying it as needed, but the model was there to work with," Torres said.
Torres attributed the success of the recovery efforts to the understanding of how the Guard functions during hurricane operations and encouraged other parishes to examine the role the Guard can play.
"A lot of times law enforcement agencies have an unrealistic idea of what the Guard can do," Torres said.
According to Nugent, the support of the community not only helps the restoration process, but lifts the morale of the troops.
"Everybody has been fully supportive, doing anything in the world for us. They are constantly bringing us food and thanking us for helping them out," Nugent said. "They have brought us into the fold and made us one of their own, which has had a tremendous effect on motivation."
| Date Taken: | 10.15.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 10.15.2008 13:15 |
| Story ID: | 25020 |
| Location: | PINEVILLE, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 216 |
| Downloads: | 197 |
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