Bigger Military Role In Disasters?

Navy and Air Force teams battled high winds and heavy rain to rescue people from Hurricane Rita's aftermath, and now lawmakers must decide how to give the Pentagon a bigger role in natural disasters without trampling on state's rights.

As local emergency workers in small boats plucked people from their flooded homes in Intercoastal City, La., Navy pilots maneuvered their Seahawks between power lines on the edge of a drawbridge in 35-knot crosswinds, to pick up the evacuees and take them to higher ground.

"I've been flying for 18 years and it was, by far, some of the worst conditions I've flown in," said Navy Cmdr. Gerard Hall Sunday, speaking from the USS Iwo Jima. "The biggest challenge was keeping the aircraft pointing in the right direction."

Not far away in Vermillion Parish, La., Air Force teams using night-vision goggles and infrared radar discovered two residents stranded on a rooftop, and pulled them to safety.

But as difficult as the conditions were for the military rescuers, the challenge for policy makers is even more complex.

President Bush said Sunday that he is continuing to explore ways to expand the Pentagon's role in major disasters, particularly in light of the problems and response delays in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Currently, a state's governor is chiefly responsible for disaster preparedness and response, including control over the state's National Guard troops.

Maj. Gen. M. Scott Mayes, leader of the military's air component in the hurricane relief effort, told Bush in a videoconference that a national plan is needed to have a faster response and save more lives.

CBS News correspondent Mark Knoller reports that Mr. Bush heard some blunt talk about the federal response to Katrina, that one of his generals refereed to as a "train wreck."

"We had someone who needed to rescued … five helicopters went to the same place to get one person out," said Maj. Gen. John White of the Joint Military Task Force. "That's the sort of simplistic thing we'd like to avoid. We're not maximizing the use of our forces to the best efficiency.

Knoller reports that

Mr. Bush was receptive to White's suggestion of a better coordinated national plan for search and rescue (video).

White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters on Air Force One Sunday that Bush talked about whether "there is a trigger that comes into play in the event of a catastrophic event where the Department of Defense would need to come in and help really to help stabilize the situation."

That trigger, he said, would only be considered in a catastrophic event.