Just a Guess in a Party Dress

Sometime last Friday the US Army Corp of Engineers updated their website with standard bureaucratic press release material.

Corps Prepares for Hurricane Katrina: In anticipation of Hurricane Katrina making landfall along the north-central Gulf Coast near New Orleans, the Mississippi Valley Division (MVD), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, based in Vicksburg, Mississippi, began preparations Friday to support hurricane response operations.

And while still not knowing the exact path Katrina will settle on, MVD planners are not standing by and guessing what assets will be needed. The Corps has teams that are trained and ready to move into impacted areas with necessary support like ice, water, temporary power, housing and roofing, and debris removal.

"Right now, we are tracking the path of Katrina," said David Sills, Chief of the MVD Emergency Operations Center. … Last year MVD personnel responded to four major hurricanes, so we've got a good idea how tough this mission will be if Katrina hits the Mississippi or Louisiana Gulf Coast."

Anticipating potential requirements to pump water out of New Orleans, the Corps has begun discussions with partners to preposition assets to conduct un-watering operations should Katrina strike the southern Louisiana and New Orleans area.

Bureaucrats love planning because bureaucrats love predictable order. My newest favorite quote comes from Michael Yon’s post last week named Gates of Fire: “But once the shooting starts, a plan is just a guess in a party dress.” Preparation for possible consequences is desirable but it is not a substitute for leadership that reacts to the reality of the situation, no matter what the organizational chart and deployment sequence dictates.

That said, I have no empathy with those voices that are entirely criticism of the response to this massive influx of chaos into our civilization. Help constructively or shut up. If you found this post you can find the many ways to contribute to the relief effort.