Honoring General Honore
by Scout Finch
Thu Jan 10, 2008 at 10:15:02 AM PDT
Two and a half years ago New Orleans was drowning and the Crescent City residents were struggling to stay alive. I am sure there isn't a single one of us that will ever forget the images of helplessness and despair. The incompetence of the Bush administration was on full display as the residents were trapped without food, water, shelter, sanitation, and without an evacuation plan in sight.
After several days of inaction and confusion by the Bush administration, General Russel Honore was finally given control and the resources he needed to bring order back to the city, and more importantly to evacuate the stranded masses. Looking back on those days, there is one event that really stood out. It was the moment that completely shifted the mission of the troops from a law & order force, to a rescue mission. It was the moment that General Honore pulled into the heart of New Orleans, climbed out of his truck, and immediately started shouting at the military personnel "Put your guns down!" As I recall there was a crowd nearby that began cheering. He was such a commanding figure and it was at that exact moment that the mission shifted and the rescue began in earnest.
This Friday, General Russel Honore will be turning over his command and leaving his military career behind. While many retired generals may be content to spend afternoons on the golf course and the evenings lighting up the cocktail circuit, that doesn't seem to be Honore's style. Instead, he is going to take the lesson of Katrina and dedicate himself to keeping America prepared.
As Lt. Gen. Russel Honore prepares to retire from the Army and hand over his command Friday, he says he wants to spend the rest of his life creating a "culture of preparedness" to prevent another post-disaster disaster.
"There's an attitude everywhere else that people are smarter than they are in New Orleans and in Mississippi. They're not," Honore, 60, said at his office at Fort Gillem outside Atlanta. "What happened in New Orleans could have happened anywhere on the eastern seaboard."
It will be interesting to see how he intends to create a "culture of preparedness." With the threats of terrorism and global warming, it is long overdue. And with his no nonsense style, if anybody can help America prepare - it's General Honore.
In the meantime, let's honor the service of General Honore by helping New Orleans. They've come a long way, but they still have far to go. Below are a couple of links to organizations that need help.
We salute you General Honore. Thank you for your service. I can't wait to see what you do next.
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