{{no footnotes, date=December 2016 Joint Task Force Katrina was a joint

operation Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

between the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

and the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

created on September 1, 2005, at

Camp Shelby Camp Shelby is a military post whose North Gate is located at the southern boundary of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on United States Highway 49. It is the largest state-owned training site in the nation. During wartime, the camp's mission is to s ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

to organize

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

efforts along the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The operation was headed by

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Russel L. Honoré Russel L. Honoré ( ; born September 15, 1947) is a retired lieutenant general who served as the 33rd commanding general of the U.S. First Army at Fort Gillem, Georgia. He is best known for serving as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina resp ...

. Joint Task Force Katrina took over operations from

United States Northern Command United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for non-military authorities in the U.S., and protect ...

that had some elements in place before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Included in this was a joint mission of USAF Reserve Security Forces personnel at Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. Their mission was to protect Air Force resources and personnel if the displaced persons being housed in shelters at Kelly AFB were to cause a civil disturbance.

History

JTF Katrina was established the day after Hurricane Katrina finished its path through the Gulf coast. It was established on September 1, 2005, to coordinate the Department of Defense (DOD) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) relief plans for the areas effected by Hurricane Katrina. At its creation Joint Task Force Katrina had about 7,000 National Guardsmen in Mississippi, 10,000 in Alabama, 6,500 in Louisiana, and 8,200 in Florida ready for duty. These troops had originally been put in place by Northern Command. First actions taken were flying helicopters for medical- evacuations that were started on September 1. The aircraft for these operations came from across the United States. Some came from as far as California to help in the relief effort. Pilots of these aircraft orders ranged from flying along the coastline looking for survivors and transporting food, water, and medical supplies to all of the refuge camps across the Gulf. Numerous Naval ships were sent to assist in the aid of the Gulf. for instance the Iwo Jima amphibious Readiness Group sailed from Virginia which consisted of the

USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) USS ''Iwo Jima'' (LHD-7) is a of the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Iwo Jima of World War II. The ship was commissioned in 2001 and is in service. Construction and career Fabrication work for ''Iwo Jima'' began at ...

, USS Shreveport (LPD-12),

USS Tortuga (LSD-46) USS ''Tortuga'' (LSD-46) is a of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship to be named for the Dry Tortugas, a group of desert coral islets west of Key West, Florida. ''Tortuga'' was laid down on 23 March 1987, by the Avondale Sh ...

and USNS Arctic (T-AOE-8). The ships were loaded with disaster response equipment which went to Louisiana. In addition, the

USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) USNS ''Comfort'' (T-AH-20) is a of the United States Navy. ''Comfort''s duties include providing emergency, on-site care for U.S. combatant forces deployed in war or other operations. Operated by the Military Sealift Command, ''Comfort'' pro ...

came from Maryland to give medical supplies to the relief effort. The USS Grapple (ARS 53) also was called in to do underwater salvaging of flooded areas throughout the Gulf coast. Multiple working staging areas were set up on multiple air force bases that included Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi; Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana ; Alexandria, Louisiana; and Fort Polk, Louisiana. These were set up to speed up movement of supplies and soldiers to get to needed areas. Joint Task Force Katrina eventually was relocated from Camp Shelby to the Iwo Jima that was in port in New Orleans. The United States Military also had 355 helicopters and 93 planes to the relief effort. Not including the 63,000 Active Soldiers that were also contributing to the cause.

External links

Association of the United States Army: Joint Task Force Katrina begins setting up at Camp Shelby, Mississippi

CNO Visits Iwo Jima
- Joint Task Force Gulf Coast
Army Support During the Hurricane Katrina Disaster

Northern Command To THE Rescue

Navy piloy says 'a lot of people' still trapped: Chicago Tribune

The Evacuation and The Recriminations: The Washington Post
Hurricane Katrina disaster relief Joint task forces of the United States Armed Forces Camp Shelby