Fast Facts: U.S. Military and Katrina
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The U.S. Military has been heavily involved in the relief effort and maintaining safety and security of citizens in affected regions. All branches of service are deployed in some capacity along the Gulf Coast; here is a breakdown of their deployment.
OVERVIEW
-- Almost 22,000 active duty personnel are on ships or on the ground in the region.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}-- Joint Task Force Katrina is located on the USS Iwo Jima.
-- D-O-D estimates nearly 360,000 active duty service members, retirees and their families have been displaced by the storm.
-- There are approximately 474 evacuee sites across the U-S.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}THE U-S ARMY
-- Soldiers of the 13th Corps Support Command at Fort Hood, Texas are joining the U-S Army contingent assisting with Hurricane Relief.
-- Louisiana National Guard soldiers returning from Iraq, who have lost their homes, will be housed at Fort Polk, Louisiana.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}THE U-S AIR FORCE
-- Air Force reservists with the 939th Air Refueling Wing here are providing around-the-clock support to airlift the Oregon Army National Guards 41st Brigade deploying to the area affected by Hurricane Katrina.
-- The 4th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron has built a tent city to house nearly 900 Soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}-- Air Force tents typically have air conditioning that is not part of the Army's tent package.
THE U-S NAVY
-- The USS Iwo Jima is docked in New Orleans.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}THE U-S MARINE CORPS
-- Marines from B Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marie Regiment, have been conducting search-and-rescue patrols.
-- They have rescued 78 New Orleans residents.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}THE COAST GUARD
-- The Coast Guard has saved 23,909 people.
-- The Lower Mississippi River has been opened to deep draft vessels with a 39-foot draft or less for daylight traffic only.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}-- The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is open to traffic across the hurricane impacted areas of Louisiana, with only the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal remaining closed.
-- Port Status:
----Gulfport, Miss is open to vessels with a 30-foot draft or less for daylight traffic only.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}----Pascagoula, Miss. is open to vessels with 36-foot draft or less for daylight traffic only.
----Mobile, Ala. is open for daylight transits only to traffic with a draft of 43 feet or less.
----Pensacola, Fla., are open to vessels with a 31-foot draft or less.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}----Destin and Panama City, Fla. are open to vessels with a draft of 34 feet or less