Mike Smith, right, Louisiana Recovery Field Office Director, passes the RFO colors back to Memphis District Commander Col. Tom Smith as the Corps deactivates its 25-month Louisiana recovery mission and returns residual mission elements to Memphis or the Federal Emergency Management Agency.The Louisiana RFO established a team at peak of 1,700 and a program of $5 billion in response the FEMA's ESF3 mission following Hurricanes Rita and Katrina and set numerous records for performance, safety and small business utitlization. LA-RFO Photo by Michael Logue. Back to Features

Hurricane Katrina Recovery
Memphis Corps deactivates the Louisiana Recovery Field Office
By Tom Clarkson, Public Affairs, Louisiana Recovery Field Office

NEW ORLEANS, LA … Among an array of mind-boggling accomplishments - such as the effective removal of twenty-eight million cubic yards of hurricane created debris – the Louisiana Recovery Field Office (LA-RFO) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been retired from service, deactivated.

In the official commemoration today, presided over by Col. Thomas Smith, Memphis District and LA-RFO commander, and Mike Smith, LA-RFO director, the termination of work was officially noted, its nearly 3,500 volunteers acknowledged and thanked, and – in military tradition – the organization’s colors “cased”, indicating the deactivation of the organization.

“Once there had been not even a single square foot of an eventual nine miles of temporary roofing installed.  And, once there had been not one drop of an eventual forty million liters of water distributed to storm victims,” noted Col. Smith. “Once there was only chaos.”

Smith noted that an important role of the Louisiana Recovery Field Office, raised in the midst of the worst disaster scene in American history, was to create a foothold and provide an opening for the rest of the recovery effort.  “Somebody had to start!” he said.

The Louisiana Recovery Field Office opened its doors days after landfall in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, preparing to open roads in 40 parishes, saving lives, sustaining lives, and setting the stage for communities to manage their own recovery operations with power, temporary critical public facilities and schools, ice, water, Blue Roof repairs, and debris and demolition services.

From the outset, the Louisiana Recovery Field Office was temporal, created for only one purpose – to productively help the citizens of Louisiana recover from the devastation and destruction of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the ensuing flood depredation.  Normal Corps hurricane responses last about four months.  The Katrina-Rita response lasted 25 months.

The Corps national response system poured about 3,500 of its worldwide workforce into South Louisiana to manage a $5-billion recovery program.  In a matter of days, the Louisiana Recovery Field Office set up the equivalent of a “provisional district office” in Baton Rouge and later advanced  the entire operation forward to New Orleans.

By comparison, the Memphis District, which managed the LA-RFO, normally reports an annual work program of $90 million.

Pursuant to the Federal Emergency Management Agency directive, September 29 will be the last day in the life of an entity that has positively impacted thousands upon thousands.  The organization, the team, the volunteers from around the word – for the most part - will leave Louisiana.  Many are natives and victims and will continue the recovery and their personal recovery.

“Thank you not only for your service,” said FEMA Public Assistance Deputy Eddie Williams, “but also for the lessons you have shared with these communities.  They are now better prepared to handle future responses because of those things you have taught them following Katrina and Rita.”

Or, the fact that during those first frantic days, they hauled in 2,178 truckloads of water at 18,000 liters each, as well as 1,533 truckloads of ice – the equivalent of 62,000 of those commercial ice machines seen at convenience stores.

With an eye to the children, they expeditiously constructed 216 school classrooms and 94 other critical public facilities such as fire and police stations.

And with sensitivity for the storm’s casualties and their families, team members built an 18,720-square-foot Victim Identification Center and mortuary which now remains ready for further national emergencies.

Concern for the survivors led to the assessment of 1,217 sites and the effective monitoring of 65,000 FEMA trailers housing homeless Louisianans.

Literally in the citizenry’s very back yard, they removed over 58,000 salt water killed trees and demolished over 7,000 storm-destroyed homes.

This work force of volunteers – comprised of full-time Corps employees, rehired annuitants, active duty and Reserve soldiers and contractors – peaked at a total of 1,700. 

Here, simply, to work to help their fellow travelers of life, the LA-RFO departs with minimal fanfare.  But they do so with the knowledge that, while much remains to be done, they did their part – and more.

“We have completed all the work that FEMA has asked of us.  That is our mission,” said LA-RFO director Mike Smith.  “We have brought these communities to a level of independence that allows them to finish their long-term recovery using local resources and funding from FEMA under the Project Work Sheet Program.”

Col. Smith said the mission reinforced his faith in the nation to respond to similar challenges.

“I am optimistic about any challenge in this country anywhere in the future.  We have an enormous capacity of human spirit, and the Corps and FEMA will be there regardless of the scope or challenge.”