WP: Coast Guard's Chief of Staff To Assist FEMA Head Brown

[DeepModem Mom]

Coast Guard's Chief of Staff To Assist FEMA Head Brown
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 7, 2005; Page A23


With Michael D. Brown, the embattled public face of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, taking harsh criticism for the slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the secretary of homeland security this week assigned a top Coast Guard official to help bail him out.

Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, the Coast Guard's chief of staff, was assigned on Monday to be Brown's deputy and to take over operational control of the search-and-rescue and recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast. The unprecedented task of coordinating the massive effort was handed off to a leader and expert who was described by colleagues as unflappable, engaging and intensely organized.

Allen is also familiar with the inner workings of the Department of Homeland Security, where the Coast Guard has landed alongside FEMA as one of the designated main protectors of the United States. Allen has been one of the primary shepherds of change at the Coast Guard since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and has been praised for his ability to reach out to other agencies to develop "big-picture" approaches to homeland defense.

Retired Adm. James M. Loy, former commandant of the Coast Guard and former deputy secretary of Homeland Security, said yesterday that Allen has the experience to help steer the federal response to the Katrina catastrophe in the right direction after early shortfalls. When Loy was the Coast Guard chief of staff from 1996 to 1998, Allen was his resource director, and Loy said he "always brings a new idea per minute to the table as far as how to grapple with difficult situations."

DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff handpicked Allen to essentially lead the federal recovery efforts in New Orleans. As Brown's deputy, Allen will work with Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore -- head of the military's Joint Task Force Katrina -- to oversee, manage and lead all military and civilian recovery efforts....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/06/AR2005090601677.html

[Wickerman]

1. Mikey clearly isn't up to the job and doesn't have the good graces

to step down.

[Call me Deacon Blues]

2. Is there anybody that could be appointed to help Bushie out?

Anybody, anybody, Beuller? Anybody? :)

[yellowcanine]

20. Colin Powell's name was being bandied about yesterday. It's a twofer for

Bush - He's relatively competent (at least as compared to Brown and Bush) AND he is black. However maybe nothing will come of it. Maybe Powell isn't willing to prostitute himself one more time to pull the Shrub's chestnuts out of the fire.

[yellowcanine]

21. A minder for Mikey? Bush has Chaney so it is only fair I guess. Maybe

they should appoint qualified people in the first place and then we would only have to pay one salary? What a quaint idea that is.

[Don Claybrook]

3. Does this Coast Guard guy have cable TV?

I think that's going to be the biggest factor. Brown is an unheralded genius, but he just didn't have access to cable television to see what EVERY OTHER AMERICAN apparently knew before he did. So the admiral will have to have basic cable. Everything else will fall in place after that piece is taken care of.

[aquart]

7. I don't have cable and I knew two days before Katrina hit.

I read Greg Masters' blog.

[Don Claybrook]

9. Yeah, I actually don't have cable myself

I get internet from the cable company, but not television. And I knew in pretty much the same timeframe. Is this guy just a submoron, or something worse?

[bottomofthehill]

4. Brownie, Dead Man Walking

They have his replacement and he is too stupid to realize it.

[Kelvin Mace]

5. Now, now...

his Medal of Freedom isn't ready yet.

[bottomofthehill]

10. Good Point

Maybe they can ask for the one they gave to George Tenet and just continue to circulate the one they give to help seal the cover-up. That would save the taxpayers a few dollars and we could donate the savings to the rebuilding of New Orleans.

[rainbow4321]

6. Brown's job reminds me of chimp's governor job..

Has a job title but is really a hood ornament.


Actually..guess we could really say the same about chimp's current job.

[habitual]

8. too bad they never considered someone with the right qualifications

in the first place. Now they try to look like heros for bringing in a person who is top notch and has the experience exposing their croniism for what it is.

[Felix Mala]

19. I'd like to see some site (smokinggun, et al) post Brown's resume

versus this guy's...

Check out this source:

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/12554964.htm


WASHINGTON - From failed Republican congressional candidate to ousted "czar" of an Arabian horse association, there was little in Michael D. Brown's background to prepare him for the fury of Hurricane Katrina.

and

Brown's ticket to FEMA was Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's 2000 campaign manager and an old friend of Brown's in Oklahoma. When Bush ran for president in 2000, Brown was ending a rocky tenure at the horse association.

[daleo]

11. Brown will be out looking for lost horses.

It is more in his line. Not that he will be much good at that either.

[DeepModem Mom]

12. Good one!

[Captain Hilts]

13. In DC they call that being 'layered'. (nt)

[turbo_satan]

14. Thad Allen should play the role of Kaishakunin...

... when Brown is forced to commit seppuku.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaishakunin

A kaishakunin is an appointed second whose duty is to behead one who has commited seppuku at the moment of agony. Aside from the purpose of being spared prolonged anguish until death, both the condemned and those on hand to observe are spared the spectacle of the writhing death throes that would imaginably ensue. The use of a kaishakunin is normally reserved for one who is performing the deed out of honor, rather than in disgrace. For example, a warlord who is defeated in battle and has chosen to commit seppuku might be appointed a second so that he may die respectably, as opposed to a samurai who has been ordered to die for some crime, or for having disgraced his clan through dishonorable deeds.

[OKNancy]

15. kick

[Stinky The Clown]

16. WP: "Coast Guard's Chief of Staff To Assist FEMA Head Brown"

From the WaPo:

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 7, 2005; Page A23

With Michael D. Brown, the embattled public face of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, taking harsh criticism for the slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the secretary of homeland security this week assigned a top Coast Guard official to help bail him out.

Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, the Coast Guard's chief of staff, was assigned on Monday to be Brown's deputy and to take over operational control of the search-and-rescue and recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast. The unprecedented task of coordinating the massive effort was handed off to a leader and expert who was described by colleagues as unflappable, engaging and intensely organized.

Allen is also familiar with the inner workings of the Department of Homeland Security, where the Coast Guard has landed alongside FEMA as one of the designated main protectors of the United States. Allen has been one of the primary shepherds of change at the Coast Guard since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and has been praised for his ability to reach out to other agencies to develop "big-picture" approaches to homeland defense.

Retired Adm. James M. Loy, former commandant of the Coast Guard and former deputy secretary of Homeland Security, said yesterday that Allen has the experience to help steer the federal response to the Katrina catastrophe in the right direction after early shortfalls. When Loy was the Coast Guard chief of staff from 1996 to 1998, Allen was his resource director, and Loy said he "always brings a new idea per minute to the table as far as how to grapple with difficult situations."

Link to full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/06/AR2005090601677.html

From the Coast Guard web site:

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/comrel/factfile/factcards/BioGCCS.html

Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen
Chief of Staff
United States Coast Guard


(note: image from elsewhere - USCG site image was huge)

Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen assumed duties as Chief of Staff, U.S. Coast Guard and Commanding Officer, Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC in May 2002. Vice Admiral Allen is third in command of the Coast Guard. VADM Allen serves as the Coast Guard’s Transition Director for the transfer of the Coast Guard from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security.

Prior to this assignment he served as Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, Fifth Coast Guard District; and U.S. maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic where he was the operational commander for all Coast Guard activities in an area of responsibility spanning five Coast Guard Districts, over 14 million square miles, involving 26,000 military and civilian employees, and 27,900 auxiliarists. He served concurrently as Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, and Commander U.S. Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic. VADM Allen lead Atlantic forces in the Coast Guard’s response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

In his previous flag assignments he commanded the Seventh Coast Guard District and directed all Coast Guard operations in South Carolina, Georgia, most of Florida and throughout the Caribbean; and was the Coast Guard's Director of Resources, where he was responsible for formulating the Coast Guard's budget, developing long range plans, and managing the Coast Guard's performance plan.

A specialist in operations both in the coastal and offshore environments, Vice Admiral Allen has served in three Coast Guard cutters ANDROSCOGGIN and GALLATIN, and command of the medium endurance cutter CITRUS. His coastal operations command assignments include Captain of the Port / Group Long Island Sound, CT; Group Atlantic City, NJ, and LORAN Station Lampang, Thailand. Vice Admiral Allen's other assignments included a tour as search and rescue controller in the Greater Antilles Section, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Intelligence Watch Officer at DEA/INS El Paso Intelligence Center, El Paso, TX; Chief Budget Officer, Maintenance and Logistics Command, Atlantic, Governors Island, NY; Deputy Project Manager, Fleet Modernization and Rehabilitation (FRAM) Project, and Assistant Division Chief, Programs Division, Office of the Chief of Staff, Coast Guard Headquarters.

Vice Admiral Allen is a native of Tucson, AZ. He graduated from the U. S. Coast Guard Academy in 1971. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the George Washington University and received the 2000 Distinguished Alumni Award. He also holds a Master of Science degree from the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

What do we know about this guy?

[skooooo]

17. Coast Guard was the only entity...

...who started saving people right after the storm blew through. Look, he's got a real, relevant education and experience. It's gotta help.

[northzax]

18. He's a coastie, and they know a bit about this

plus, he has an MPA and an MBA equivalent, he's obviously bright and competent, there isn't enough political pressure on the Coast Guard to push cronies higher. Plus, he's probably actually saved someone's life.

If he pulls this off, he may have the greatest save the Coasties got all week.

in case I haven't said it enough over the past ten days: the men and women of the Coast Guard are insane, but with that insanity comes a disregard for their own safety when other people's lives are on the line. They don't get guns, they don't get spiffy uniforms, they don't get cool toys, they don't have Freepers claiming allegiance to them, they go out and do their jobs. That, my friends, is heroism.