via T.
Sol,
Saturday I bugged out of Houston. The city was almost back to normal other than the sinkhole on the beltway that's causing huge traffic jams throughout the city. Like I said I worked nights so I wasn't able to participate in any of the evacuations or recovery efforts. I did start to notice that some of the areas I worked were completely flooded just days prior. It was amazing seeing people that had their apartments or homes flooded going about their daily routine. I very rarely dealt with anyone from middle class to upper middle class neighborhoods. Most were low income and went on as if nothing had happened. It was odd to be thanked for coming down to help as to me its just something that you do.
To me it comes down to the real hero's are the guys that heard the Hurricane was coming and hooked up their boats and went to go help whoever they could. They had no government red tape to follow. All they needed was fuel to go help more people. Or the people that found out where the boats were dropping people off at and showed up to drive people to shelters. The average everyday person made the biggest difference in saving lives. That's the story that needs to be told.
By the way you hit the nail on its head in your breakdown of what I sent you. The guys that went prepared for whatever was thrown at them all had one thing they kept saying. "I have not really done anything that should make me feel this tired, but I'm so freaking worn out." For the most part we felt like dogs chained up fighting to get loose and really do the things we were never allowed to do.
I know with every major disaster debriefs will be done and things hopefully will get better for the next major incident, but red tape needs to be cut. I am all for limited government but this is one of those things that its actually meant for and to me it failed. The everyday guy and gal on the ground did the best they could with what they had, but assets need to be mobilized faster.
A quick note on the looters. It seems that the majority of looting businesses was actually done while the hurricane was hitting not after it had hit. I have a buddy that does contract work and he put out an urgent need for police/former military to secure businesses in Florida before and during Irma's landfall.
That's alot to unpack and I can't wait to hear from JD Strike in Georgia so we can compare and contrast and make a solid after action.
What have I noticed and are a few concerns?
1. Did you catch the part about goblins coming out during the weather event? Interesting. I never considered that but should have. Why do most burglaries happen at night? Because the goblins want the cover of darkness. Same would apply to a storm that caused evacuation warnings.
2. Many thought I was an idiot when I complained about the slow response by the Marine Corps. I bang on the Marines cause I take pride in it. I expect more, better and faster than the rest of the govt ...to include the other services. Seems like a slow response is the only speed in which our federal govt can react. That's telling on so many levels. What does it mean for individuals? Some publications say 3, others 10 and some even 14 days. I now believe that if you're not able to stand on your own without govt aid after a disaster for at least 30 days you're wrong. Fix yourself or your family might pay later.
3. The resilience is real. T said people went on like nothing happened. I wonder if that a bit of societal shock in that region or a real indication of where they're at. Time will tell. I've personally seen too much whining to be optimistic but I WILL ACCEPT what a person on the ground tells me.
There is so much more to say and chew on.
Hopefully JD Strike will report in, then I can compare notes and put together a real deal lessons learned from these two mega hurricanes.
