Biggest military in the world

[Eko]

and we have news crews rescuing people.

[Hoyt]

1. You have a very good point.

[Eko]

2. Life guards are out there

on Jet Skis saving people. I get it that it takes time to move the military and the coast guard rocks, but we have lifeguards and the media saving people with the cajun navy on the way. Not seeing much federal response yet.

[Thomas Hurt]

3. We have major military bases in Texas (Bliss, Houston, Hood)that should have some helicopters...

but you have to deal with Posse Comitatus.

[Eko]

5. Sure, but,

The Act does not apply to the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard under state authority from acting in a law enforcement capacity within its home state or in an adjacent state if invited by that state's governor. The United States Coast Guard, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security, is not covered by the Posse Comitatus Act either, primarily because although the Coast Guard is an armed service, it also has both a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency mission.

[uponit7771]

7. A good portion of them are gone is my understanding

[Eko]

10. If so that is wrong.

They have been used in Iraq, Guantanamo, and lots of other places that they shouldn't be. Some Katrina history.
"While many federal agencies appear to have been slow to react to Katrina, the Coast Guard was plucking people off rooftops and sending all available equipment and rescue workers to the scene. One unit from Massachusetts dispatched rescue crews to the region as the storm approached. "
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4838677

[marybourg]

11. And the coast guard is there.

KHOU had a live shot of a CG helicopter landing at dusk on a freeway. There's a huge National Guard convoy coming down from the north.

[Eko]

12. True,

but the response seems slow. Its still early so maybe not, but when I see news crews rescuing people and hardly anything from the CG and national guard I have to wonder.

[Igel]

13. The local news is that rescue workers--not civilians--have

responded to well over a thousand calls. This doesn't include the patrols that the CG and local authorities have going into areas without specific calls.

Some things make for better news than others.

Local news crews went on some of the rescue boats just so they could have shots of themselves rescuing people. We watched a bit more and saw that the people with the life preservers and badges were behind the camera. The result was that they rescued a person instead of more because the news person and cameraman were taking up room on the rescue boat, and it took longer because they had to stop to interview people along the way. "Your house is flooding." "Yeah, I'm waiting to be rescued." Person was nice enough to not add, "And if you weren't in that boat my ride would already be here."

Currently my location is at 21+ inches, but the NOAA weather site's about to have a problem: They max out at 25" rain on their color key. Bit chunks of the area around Houston have been over 25" all day.

[marybourg]

14. Well by definition, whenever a news reporter does

anything, a news reporter is always on the scene.

The same is not necessarily true when a guard detachment does something.

[dalton99a]

4. Fort Hood is the largest U.S. military base in the world and the largest single employer in Texas.

[CurtEastPoint]

8. Not that it matters in this context but it's Ft. Bragg, NC

[bathroommonkey76]

9. You beat me to it.

[uponit7771]

6. I'm HIP !!! They just need motor boats to get people in single story homes to shelters !!!

[lpbk2713]

15. The DoD is so big it can't fit that into their budget.

We're screwn.