Irene tests military's revamped disaster response

[jakeXT]

Source: Associated Press

By DAN ELLIOTT, Associated Press – 11 hours ago

DENVER (AP) — The military's efforts to help the East Coast recover from the floods and disruption caused by Hurricane Irene could test the Pentagon's new plan to avoid the chaos that plagued the response to Hurricane Katrina.

National Guard officers were appointed over the weekend as "dual-status commanders" to direct both active-duty troops and guardsmen assisting civilian officials in New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island.

Normally, active-duty personnel and state-level guardsmen report up separate chains of command to the president on one side and the state's governor on the other. That division was blamed for some of the delays, duplications and gaps after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August 2005.

The military began training high-level Guard officers last year to command both types of troops so they can call on each side's specialties and quickly get help where it's needed.

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