Military Officer - January 2006 - (Page 64)

people were leaving their entire lives behind and didn’t know what was going to happen next. It’s something I hope I never see again, but I’m glad we were there. It gave us the opportunity to do what we do best. Brig. Gen. Michael Kiefer, INARNG, 58, spent 24 days overseeing and coordinating National Guard relief efforts in 31 Mississippi counties north of the coastal area in the wake of Katrina. Before he returned home to Indianapolis, the citizens of Macomb, Miss., granted him honorary citizenship as a thank-you. We were to return Mississippi to a state that [its residents] could manage without outside help. They wanted to restore power, make sure the water was potable, and repair the schools. But basically we were going to do whatever [the people of ] Mississippi wanted. They had some deﬁnite things they knew they wanted, others were ad hoc, like security. They didn’t really know they needed that until the need was upon them. The damage was indescribable. Several communities and Highway 90 along the coast were just gone. I come from Indiana and we know tornadoes, but it was like 100 tornadoes on steroids had gone through. It was the breadth and depth that surprised all of us. The media coverage doesn’t even begin to capture it. All around you could see the foundations of what were houses, apartment buildings, or ofﬁces and restaurants, and all that was left of them were the steps leading to nowhere. Oh, they’ll recover, it’s just a question of time. But the coast will take a lengthy period of time the highways are gone, and the cleanup alone is a big job. But the attitude I saw is that they’ll get this done sooner rather than later. You know, the area had suffered so much and there was so much damage that I fully expected these people to be a bit short-tempered. But I found it remarkable how patient the citizens and the civic leaders were — they took it better than I would have. And they seemed really grateful for our help. And the volunteers and my soldiers were amazing. They all worked incredible hours, caught all the complaints, but still they kept going. I think the soldiers brought a sense of calm, and it was amazing the sense of professionalism the uniform brought. They set a tone that said, “We’re going to help you recover.” And this is why I joined the Guard in 1969 — to help folks who 64 MILITARY OFFICER JANUARY 2006 The Klock family (above) was split during Hurricane Rita. Brian, a Navy Reserve captain, was in Washington, D.C., helping coordinate Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Susan and their daughter, Taylor, fled Houston as Rita approached, getting mired in traffic jams like the one pictured at right.

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Military Officer - January 2006

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