Katrina’s Aftermath: NAVFAC on the Scene

Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Damage Assessment Teams (DATs) from across the nation deployed to Gulf Coast naval installations ravaged by Hurricane Katrina Aug 31/05, even as other US military assets prepare to move south. Twenty-four hours after Hurricane Katrina came ashore in New Orleans, NAVFAC DATs were in route to the Gulf Coast naval installations with structural and mechanical engineers, architects, roofing specialists and construction contract specialists from NAVFAC commands in Charleston, SC; Jacksonville, FL; Norfolk, VA; Port Hueneme, CA; Great Lakes, IL; and Washington, DC. Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL will be the staging area for the teams as they move westward into the affected areas. The teams, traveling by trucks or vans, will use military air transportation as necessary to get to their destinations. While Lt. Cmdr. Darren Sweet’s team from NAVFAC Southern Division in Charleston, SC is assessing the damages, Capt. Paul Walden, Navy Region Southeast Regional Engineer, will be sending another NAVFAC team to Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, MS. This team will ensure the installation operations and facilities are able to meet mission readiness which will include securing U.S. government property, restoration of basic installation functions such as opening roadways, sanitation, water, electricity and […]