Return to Article: FEMA seeks 2,000 Homeland Security volunteers for disaster assistance
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77393
I have no idea if this is the proper to apply for volunteer work for Homeland Security.If not, please point me into the right direction. I am interested in volunteer work.
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12231
Folks I've talked to who returned from duty in New Orleans describe confusion and too many people stepping on and running into each other.
ICE has sent out the call for more volunteers...to do what?
This operation is nothing more than a public relations recovery effort for the Twig administration and Chertoff.......
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12089
I just saw photos of DEA agents engaging in rescue work in New Orleans. Very commendable, but how is that the work of drug enforcement agents? Have we already solved the narcotics problem? The same applies to other agencies who have rushed to the disaster area. Disaster rescue and recovery is very demanding and difficult, and should be handled by professionals. Well-meaning volunteers have a place, but must be under the supervision of those who have the training and experience for this kind of work. Can the IRS be far behind?
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11964
My large SE Texas ICE/SAC office asked for and got many volunteers willing to go into the affected areas, particularly New Orleans, to augment the struggling law enforcement and relief efforts there. Unfortunately, DHS/ICE headquarters staff, DHS leadership, could not pull the trigger and make the important decisions needed to protect and save the lives of US citizens affected by this national catastrophe. So we remained on "stand-by", unable to commit personally to local volunteer efforts and unable to officially deploy with DHS authorization/orders. As "the" investigative, enforcement arm of Homeland Security, ICE has yet again proved itself to be the perfect poster-boy for ineffective, unresponsive, bureaucratic government mismanagement, waste and abuse of taxpayer funds. How many people were you able to see on TV news coverage wearing DHS t-shirts or raid jackets? Though,it would have only been a cruel joke to have ICE agents wear their "ICE" t-shirts/raid jackets in the affected areas...desperately thirsty people, people in need, would have surely rioted upon finding out that the "ICE" police had no ICE. How many DHS blackhawk helicopters did you see in the skies over NOLA? How many DHS boat assets were deployed to patrol the Mississippi? Had DHS not taken over US Customs and orgainizationally dismantled it to the sorry state it now exists in, you would have seen these legacy US Customs assets and agents deployed to and operating in the affected areas. Prior to the creation of DHS, US Customs maintained the worlds largest non-military, government owned/operated fleet of boats and aircraft; all wasted now. Why should funding for DHS continue when local police and firefighters, state and national guard units, church and private organizations are the only ones actually providing and conducting relief and security operations in defense and support of the poeple of this country? Other than the outrageous amounts of taxpayer money it has access to, DHS is a harsh, needless and deadly joke. Get rid of DHS and re-dedicate the funding directly to stand-alone organizations that can actually help and protect the people of this nation without waiting on bureaucrats to make simple, no-brainer decisions.
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11959
My RAC asked me if I wanted to volunteer to go to the Gulf Coast in Mississippi to assist in the relief/clean up effort. Not in a law enforcement capacity, looter control, relief convoy security, but in some sort of FEMA capacity not related to a traditional law enforcement function, God knows the Police out there really need our help in New Orleans. I was told I will need to bring my own pup tent to sleep in, provide my own sleeping bag, 3 to 4 days of my own canned food ( I dont have access to MRE's), and my own water. Why not issue me a Blue Helmet with a UN Logo on it and a " French Foreign Legion Beret " as a soft cover. Next thing you know they will be asking us to report to Koffi Annan. Send me to perform a Law enforcement function to the region, a mission that I'm trained to perform and can best assist in. This is insanity at the highest levels of DHS !
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11944
Good idea for DHS and FEMA to tell the media that they told these prospective volunteers to bring cash, as well as computers, cell phones, and Blackberrys. This will just bring 2,000 more potential victims into the clutches of the criminals who have already taken over New Orleans, by all accounts. Has anybody in charge ever heard of OPSEC (operational security)???
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11934
I don't know how not to come across as being selfish here.
I will help any way that I can. BUT, when I am asked to volunteer, as a DHS employee, who is employed in a law enforcement capacity to go and do whatever as John Q. Citizen, I have an issue with that. What if I get hurt or ill? I'm fulfilling one of the primary missions of DHS, but get no backing (ie. work comp) for myself and my family for that matter. That I take exception to. I don't care about the money, but I have to provide in the worst case scenario.
God bless the survivors and RIP those who were unfortunate.
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11930
FEMA's request for volunteers is commendable, but may only add to the problems. To take barely trained federal employees and place them in the midst of a disaster, with little or no provisions made to provide for their needs, doesn't help the situation, and will take vital resources away from those who truly need them. Where will they sleep, eat, go to the bathroom, find drinking water, etc. when locals can't find these things? Conditions on the Gulf are primitive at best, and dangerous as well, with heat, disease, crime and despair.
The best solution is to send in the military and let them organize relief efforts. They have the chain of command, discipline, organization, equipment and experience to handle this job better than anyone else. Volunteers would do better to stay in their local communities and raise funds for the Red Cross and other relief agencies. Otherwise, they will just be in the way, and complicate matters more than they help, no matter no well-meaning they are.
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11928
We would like to offer our home for a family of 4-6. We live in the Chicago area. We have children and realize that they may need to stay until they can get back on their feet. Please let us know how we can let them know we are here.
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