UNCLASSIFIED

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

UNTIL RELEASED BY THE

HOUSE SELECT BIPARTISAN COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE PREPARATION FOR AND
RESPONSE TO HURRICANE KATRINA

STATEMENT OF

ADMIRAL TIMOTHY J. KEATING, USN

COMMANDER, UNITED STATES NORTHERN COMMAND

BEFORE THE

HOUSE SELECT BIPARTISAN COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE

THE PREPARATION FOR AND RESPONSE TO HURRICANE KATRINA

27 OCTOBER 2005

UNCLASSIFIED

FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

UNTIL RELEASED BY THE

HOUSE SELECT BIPARTISAN COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE PREPARATION FOR AND
RESPONSE TO HURRICANE KATRINA

Chairman Davis and Members of the Committee:

Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the role of our active duty
forces in disaster response. My comments today will focus primarily on
the actions U.S. Northern Command took to prepare for and respond to
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The men and women of United States Northern Command join me in extending
our deepest sympathy to the people of the Gulf Coast Region. Our
thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the devastating
storms.

**USNORTHCOM Operations.** The Department of Defense has a long history
of supporting civil authorities in the wake of catastrophic events with
specialized skills and assets that can rapidly stabilize and improve the
situation. All DoD support is provided at the direction of the President
or Secretary of Defense and in accordance with the National Response
Plan.

As directed by the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Northern Command supported
the Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) disaster relief efforts. Hurricane relief was conducted as a team
effort among Federal, state and local governments, as well as
non-governmental organizations. USNORTHCOM was fully engaged in
supporting the massive operation to save lives, reduce suffering and
protect the infrastructure of our homeland. 

USNORTHCOM began tracking the tropical depression that became Hurricane
Katrina on 23 August. Before Hurricane Katrina's landfall in Louisiana
and Mississippi, USNORTHCOM established staging bases and deployed
Defense Coordinating Officers and Defense Coordinating Element teams to
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida to manage DoD response
efforts in coordination with state and federal officials. These teams
are normally not activated until a Presidential Disaster Declaration is
made; however, as authorized by the Secretary of Defense, we deployed
them early due to the magnitude of Katrina.

In addition, we alerted forces to be prepared to move as soon as the
situation on the ground stabilized and the Department of Homeland
Security, through FEMA, determined what assets were needed. We
coordinated with U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) to provide
heavy lift aircraft. We also worked with Joint Forces Command to
identify available Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force units to
perform missions such as imagery support and damage assessment,
inter-coastal waterway search and rescue, aviation medical evacuation,
and construction/bridge/utility engineering to restore key
infrastructure. This enabled us to identify appropriate units to perform
requested assistance quickly and provide transportation to the scene as
soon as possible.

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, we were given authority
by the Deputy Secretary of Defense to deploy the forces we deemed
necessary to preserve life and reduce suffering. We had not yet been
asked by Federal agencies for these capabilities, but we wanted to
ensure we could respond when needed. As the levees in New Orleans gave
way and the magnitude of the disaster grew, we continued to lean forward
by preparing and moving additional capabilities, including emergency
medical teams and communications experts.

In anticipation of the significant role the Department of Defense could
play in the rescue and recovery efforts, USNORTHCOM, at the direction of
the Secretary of Defense, established Joint Task Force Katrina
(JTF-Katrina). Located at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and led by Lieutenant
General Russ Honoré (Commander, First Army), JTF-Katrina provided
command and control of Title 10 assets deployed to save lives, mitigate
suffering, and restore critical services. JTF-Katrina grew to include
24,500 active duty forces, over 200 fixed and rotary wing aircraft, and
20 ships at its peak. General Honoré and his staff provided pivotal
leadership on the ground and did a superb job providing Department of
Defense assistance in coordination with state National Guard Forces and
other federal, state, local, and non-governmental partners.

USNORTHCOM met every request for support received from FEMA. In support
of the relief effort, Department of Defense forces conducted search and
rescue operations, assisted with evacuations, organized a complex
logistical system to deliver food, water, and other essential supplies,
provided medical care, provided imagery support, conducted fire fighting
and mosquito abatement missions, cleared debris, safely managed crowded
airspace and assisted with mortuary affairs.

Throughout the operation, we worked with our interagency partners
through on-site liaison officers who provided a daily assessment of
anticipated requests for military support. In addition, we shared
information through teleconferences with Joint Task Forces Katrina and
Rita, Defense Coordinating Officers, FEMA and other interagency
organizations, and the Secretary of Defense.

Relationships and lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina relief
operations were extremely valuable in facilitating our response to
Hurricane Rita. USNORTHCOM worked with FEMA to define requirements early
and responded by ensuring Title 10 forces, imagery support, and search
and rescue assets were in place ahead of the storm, helping to mitigate
additional suffering.

**International Cooperation.** We are grateful for the generous offers
of assistance from governments, individuals, and private citizens from
around the world. More than 140 countries and international
organizations offered to help.

The aftermath of this tragedy underscored the strong bonds of friendship
with our North American partners. Canada deployed three naval vessels,
one Coast Guard cutter, and divers. The ships used their helicopters to
aid in search and rescue and supply missions; the Canadian Coast Guard
and divers assisted in the recovery and restoration of critical
navigation aids in our channels. They were joined off the coast of
Louisiana by a Mexican ship carrying all-terrain and amphibious
vehicles, an ambulance, and rescue helicopters, as well as water and
fuel. On land, the Mexican army sent a convoy of 49 trucks with a
fully-equipped field kitchen along with soldiers and public health
workers to help meet the basic needs of evacuees in San Antonio.

**Conclusion.** Our experience demonstrated we have adequate capability
to meet emerging homeland defense and civil support crises. We are
actively involved in efforts to compile lessons learned and incorporate
them into future operations. As we do so, we continue to perform our
primary mission, which is to deter, prevent and defeat attacks on our
homeland.