| Submit your comments on this article | ||
| Home Front: Economy | ||
| Troops begin combat operations in New Orleans | ||
| 2005-09-03 | ||
| NEW ORLEANS â Combat operations are underway on the streets âto take this city backâ in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. âThis place is going to look like Little Somalia,â Brig. Gen. Gary Jones, commander of the Louisiana National Guardâs Joint Task Force told Army Times Friday as hundreds of armed troops under his charge prepared to launch a massive citywide security mission from a staging area outside the Louisiana Superdome. âWeâre going to go out and take this city back. This will be a combat operation to get this city under control.â Jones said the military first needs to establish security throughout the city. Military and police officials have said there are several large areas of the city are in a full state of anarchy. Dozens of military trucks and up-armored Humvees left the staging area just after 11 a.m. Friday, while hundreds more troops arrived at the same staging area in the city via Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters. âWeâre here to do whatever they need us to do,â Sgt. 1st Class Ron Dixon, of the Oklahoma National Guardâs 1345th Transportation Company. âWe packed to stay as long as it takes.â While some fight the insurgency in the city, other carry on with rescue and evacuation operations. Helicopters are still pulling hundreds of stranded people from rooftops of flooded homes. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and police helicopters filled the city sky Friday morning. Most had armed soldiers manning the doors. According to Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeremy Grishamn, a spokesman for the amphibious assault ship Bataan, the vessel kept its helicopters at sea Thursday night after several military helicopters reported being shot at from the ground. Numerous soldiers also told Army Times that they have been shot at by armed civilians in New Orleans. Spokesmen for the Joint Task Force Headquarters at the Superdome were unaware of any servicemen being wounded in the streets, although one soldier is recovering from a gunshot wound sustained during a struggle with a civilian in the dome Wednesday night. Whether they know it or not, these scumbags are rebels, insurgents, and traitors. Kill them, now.
Spc. Cliff Ferguson of the 527th Engineer Battalion pointed out that he knows there are plenty of decent people in New Orleans, but he said it is hard to stay motivated considering the circumstances. âThis is making a lot of us think about not reenlisting.â Ferguson said. âYou have to think about whether it is worth risking your neck for someone who will turn around and shoot at you. We didnât come here to fight a war. We came here to help.â There was a Battle of New Orleans once before as I recall. Old Hickory and his army, which included many Marines and sailors, as well as pirates and Indians, whipped the lobsterbacks and sent 'em running.
| ||
| Posted by:Atomic Conspiracy |
| #13 Mrs. Davis and Robert Crawford: Nagin as Saddam is hilarious. Thanks for the best laugh of this sometimes trying week. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2005-09-03 23:44 |
| #12 Have they captured Nagin yet? Well, we know he's not hiding in a septic tank somewhere. They're all flooded. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-09-03 21:57 |
| #11 Have they captured Nagin yet? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-09-03 21:12 |
| #10 The thugs were in N.O. before the hurricane, the floods just brought them out of their cribs. The NOPD were losing the war against the thugs to begin with. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2005-09-03 20:46 |
| #9 Sounds like some people need to be reminded why the statue of Andrew Jackson has "TO PRESERVE THE UNION" carved on its base. And how it got there. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-09-03 16:20 |
| #8 Spc. Cliff Ferguson,they gave-up any consideration due to them as Americans when the first round was fired. |
| Posted by: raptor 2005-09-03 16:03 |
| #7 Got a link,sounds like fun? |
| Posted by: raptor 2005-09-03 15:59 |
| #6 Article: Spc. Cliff Ferguson of the 527th Engineer Battalion pointed out that he knows there are plenty of decent people in New Orleans, but he said it is hard to stay motivated considering the circumstances. âThis is making a lot of us think about not reenlisting.â Ferguson said. âYou have to think about whether it is worth risking your neck for someone who will turn around and shoot at you. We didnât come here to fight a war. We came here to help.â For military men, helping generally means fighting a war. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-09-03 15:09 |
| #5 Old Hickory shot a few civs in his time, you'll note. He had no patience with the local muckety-mucks who wanted to surrender the city to the Brits. |
| Posted by: mojo 2005-09-03 14:37 |
| #4 The 527th is a Louisiana NG outfit, right? Maybe they ought to send in some outsiders. Of course, this kinda defeats the purpose of having the NG in the first place. ...several large areas of the city are in a full state of anarchy. As John of Iberian Notes says: This is what anarchy means, all you blackshirts out there on your Pacific Northwest college campuses. John's over-sanguine about the looting for my taste, though. They obviously don't want us there. You think that's just snark, but it's not. It's an object lesson that ought to give some folks pause. Not now, but in a week or two. Won't, though. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2005-09-03 14:35 |
| #3 And "NO BLOOD FOR GUMBO!" |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-09-03 13:53 |
| #2 On a different forum, some snarky leftist made a sneering remark: "How come we never hear any good news from New Orleans?" It was quickly jumped on by conservatives who responded with good one-liners, like: "It's time to bring our military and emergency personnel home. They obviously don't want us there." and my favorite: "The looting and shooting shows that the New Orleans people just aren't ready for freedom and democracy!" |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-09-03 13:52 |
| #1 Spc. Backus, focus on your commander's intent: to remove those who are making life hell for the people you want to serve and defend. |
| Posted by: Omerens Omaigum2983 2005-09-03 13:49 |