'Not enough' troops, equipment in Puerto Rico, says general in charge of relief

[Eloy]

Maybe the Ricans should consider statehood for more help..

Haiti is not a state and their natural disaster had no advance warning. Why did we have a significantly better disaster response for a different country in the same part of the world? Puerto Ricans are citizens.

We have been involved with Haiti since George Washington...The Haiti earthquake didn't happen after two major hurricanes hit the US...

The USA is big and rich enough to have been able to better assist the American citizens of Puerto Rico had there been the interest in doing so by the Administration. It is a matter of leadership and Donald Trump will not take blame for anything. The narcissist-in-chief is a disaster himself.

 

[ColonelAngus]

Trump is sending a 3rd Hurricane soon because he is racist.

 

[Eloy]

About 17 years ago Marxist Puerto Rican activists managed to get the government to kick the U.S. Marines out of a base on Vieques that they had been using for 60 years. Wouldn't it have been nice if the Marines were still around with helicopters, amphibious vehicles and manpower? I haven't heard them apologize.

The United States Marines could have done more for the American citizens of Puerto Rico had they been given the order. Never have the United States armed services required that American citizens have a particular politics in order to help. They are not like you.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Trump is sending a 3rd Hurricane soon because he is racist.

W brought two monsters to the gulf in 2005. O steered all the beasts away from the US while he was prez.

 

[CowboyTed]

About 17 years ago Marxist Puerto Rican activists managed to get the government to kick the U.S. Marines out of a base on Vieques that they had been using for 60 years. Wouldn't it have been nice if the Marines were still around with helicopters, amphibious vehicles and manpower? I haven't heard them apologize.

So what about my question though? Why a bigger and quicker response for people that are not U.S citizens?

Prove it was quicker......and we werent dealing with with threes disasters at once

It's a joke to suggest the United States of America lacks the military resources to have a better response than it did. I don't buy the "but the other hurricanes..." argument for a second. We absolutely could have responded with the same urgency as when Haiti got hit.

U.S. response in Puerto Rico pales next to actions after Haiti quake

After an earthquake shattered Haiti’s capital on Jan. 12, 2010, the U.S. military mobilized as if it were going to war. Before dawn the next morning, an Army unit was airborne, on its way to seize control of the main airport in Port-au-Prince. Within two days, the Pentagon had 8,000 American troops en route. Within two weeks, 33 U.S. military ships and 22,000 troops had arrived. More than 300 military helicopters buzzed overhead, delivering millions of pounds of food and water.

Lets make it clear, they could have rung the EU/UN at any time and there was help on hand.. The UN is equipped to work on this stuff as well and work very well with the US Army, it ain't their first rodeo together...

But coming up to this Hurricane you could see that the WH had its mind somewhere else, they were warned and there pre Hurricane response was nothing like Irma even though the warnings were that it was going to be worse than Irma...

The thing is, we are 10 days after the Hurricane and there is still basic things still not in place... Power Supply is the major issue, without it Water shortage can cause an epidemic... Lets put this in context, this is America not Bangladesh...

 

[jc456]

Maybe the Ricans should consider statehood for more help..

Haiti is not a state and their natural disaster had no advance warning. Why did we have a significantly better disaster response for a different country in the same part of the world? Puerto Ricans are citizens.

We have been involved with Haiti since George Washington...The Haiti earthquake didn't happen after two major hurricanes hit the US...

The USA is big and rich enough to have been able to better assist the American citizens of Puerto Rico had there been the interest in doing so by the Administration. It is a matter of leadership and Donald Trump will not take blame for anything. The narcissist-in-chief is a disaster himself.

See why we need to fund our military? too bad obummer defunded it and why we don't have the ready we need to handle multiple disasters at the same time. Don't worry, Trump is working on resolving that error by obummer. It takes funding and the tax bill isn't passed yet. Tell your congressperson to vote quickly to aid Puerto Rico relief.

 

[martybegan]

About 17 years ago Marxist Puerto Rican activists managed to get the government to kick the U.S. Marines out of a base on Vieques that they had been using for 60 years. Wouldn't it have been nice if the Marines were still around with helicopters, amphibious vehicles and manpower? I haven't heard them apologize.

So what about my question though? Why a bigger and quicker response for people that are not U.S citizens?

Prove it was quicker......and we werent dealing with with threes disasters at once

It's a joke to suggest the United States of America lacks the military resources to have a better response than it did. I don't buy the "but the other hurricanes..." argument for a second. We absolutely could have responded with the same urgency as when Haiti got hit.

U.S. response in Puerto Rico pales next to actions after Haiti quake

After an earthquake shattered Haiti’s capital on Jan. 12, 2010, the U.S. military mobilized as if it were going to war. Before dawn the next morning, an Army unit was airborne, on its way to seize control of the main airport in Port-au-Prince. Within two days, the Pentagon had 8,000 American troops en route. Within two weeks, 33 U.S. military ships and 22,000 troops had arrived. More than 300 military helicopters buzzed overhead, delivering millions of pounds of food and water.

Lets make it clear, they could have rung the EU/UN at any time and there was help on hand.. The UN is equipped to work on this stuff as well and work very well with the US Army, it ain't their first rodeo together...

But coming up to this Hurricane you could see that the WH had its mind somewhere else, they were warned and there pre Hurricane response was nothing like Irma even though the warnings were that it was going to be worse than Irma...

The thing is, we are 10 days after the Hurricane and there is still basic things still not in place... Power Supply is the major issue, without it Water shortage can cause an epidemic... Lets put this in context, this is America not Bangladesh...

Who do you think transports the UN when they have to go places?

The power grid in PR was in bad shape before the hurricane, getting it back into service isn't comparable to systems on the mainland.

 

[jc456]

About 17 years ago Marxist Puerto Rican activists managed to get the government to kick the U.S. Marines out of a base on Vieques that they had been using for 60 years. Wouldn't it have been nice if the Marines were still around with helicopters, amphibious vehicles and manpower? I haven't heard them apologize.

So what about my question though? Why a bigger and quicker response for people that are not U.S citizens?

Prove it was quicker......and we werent dealing with with threes disasters at once

It's a joke to suggest the United States of America lacks the military resources to have a better response than it did. I don't buy the "but the other hurricanes..." argument for a second. We absolutely could have responded with the same urgency as when Haiti got hit.

U.S. response in Puerto Rico pales next to actions after Haiti quake

After an earthquake shattered Haiti’s capital on Jan. 12, 2010, the U.S. military mobilized as if it were going to war. Before dawn the next morning, an Army unit was airborne, on its way to seize control of the main airport in Port-au-Prince. Within two days, the Pentagon had 8,000 American troops en route. Within two weeks, 33 U.S. military ships and 22,000 troops had arrived. More than 300 military helicopters buzzed overhead, delivering millions of pounds of food and water.

Lets make it clear, they could have rung the EU/UN at any time and there was help on hand.. The UN is equipped to work on this stuff as well and work very well with the US Army, it ain't their first rodeo together...

But coming up to this Hurricane you could see that the WH had its mind somewhere else, they were warned and there pre Hurricane response was nothing like Irma even though the warnings were that it was going to be worse than Irma...

The thing is, we are 10 days after the Hurricane and there is still basic things still not in place... Power Supply is the major issue, without it Water shortage can cause an epidemic... Lets put this in context, this is America not Bangladesh...

too bad the politicians on the island didn't prepare properly. I'd be pissed at their negligence. Are you? Especially that mayor broad that didn't prepare for providing drinking water. You think all cities in the US should have water subsidized for everyone? I mean we need it to survive, I can't figure out how there wasn't enough fuel or water ordered by the politicians ahead of IRMA. It would have prepared them for Maria. And they would be a bit more able to help their citizens. Why didn't people evacuate? they did in Florida and Houston?

 

[CowboyTed]

BTW what was the PR govts disaster prep plan.....classs.......anyone

How does an island prepare for such a thing?

He's trying to shift blame to Puerto Rico to avoid trying to rationalize why we had a bigger response in Haiti. There really isn't an excuse; the resource argument is nonsense. We have the most powerful military on Earth, and it's more than capable of providing powerful disaster relief to areas in and around the continental U.S, even simultaneously.

Well when Hati hit, they had spent money of plans and the UN and US Army worked closer together with many other agencies...

Disaster Planning is not something that is thrown together on the day of the disaster but is money and resources invested months and years in advance preparing for possible outcomes. This is boring backbreaking work which goes largely unseen and getting congress to pay for it is hard.

The PR situation looks very unprepared but I would bet that there was a plan to foresee a PR power supply shutdown... This is what the government do... There is a plan for the big one in LA, 6 floods of Manhattan, severe ice storms and even a plane not answering while circling a city....

This is all preparation... Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail... This cost money and effort..

 

[jc456]

BTW what was the PR govts disaster prep plan.....classs.......anyone

How does an island prepare for such a thing?

He's trying to shift blame to Puerto Rico to avoid trying to rationalize why we had a bigger response in Haiti. There really isn't an excuse; the resource argument is nonsense. We have the most powerful military on Earth, and it's more than capable of providing powerful disaster relief to areas in and around the continental U.S, even simultaneously.

Well when Hati hit, they had spent money of plans and the UN and US Army worked closer together with many other agencies...

Disaster Planning is not something that is thrown together on the day of the disaster but is money and resources invested months and years in advance preparing for possible outcomes. This is boring backbreaking work which goes largely unseen and getting congress to pay for it is hard.

The PR situation looks very unprepared but I would bet that there was a plan to foresee a PR power supply shutdown... This is what the government do... There is a plan for the big one in LA, 6 floods of Manhattan, severe ice storms and even a plane not answering while circling a city....

This is all preparation... Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail... This cost money and effort..

who was responsible for being prepared? the President of the US? LOL. you all are true comedians.

 

[deanrd]

US helicopters should be flying nonstop to lift supplies to all corners of that island until roads are cleared and large trucks can get in. The response is anemic and the people there know it. As noted above this isn't Haiti, it is a territory of the United States. Get with it.

Troops should have landed to get any runways there ready to receive aircraft as the first order of business.

That was my thought. Fill the hangar deck of a carrier with supplies and load the deck with helicopters and get busy.

Make air drops with armed paratroopers to restore order and make sure supplies are distributed fairly. That's the way to go.

 

[jc456]

US helicopters should be flying nonstop to lift supplies to all corners of that island until roads are cleared and large trucks can get in. The response is anemic and the people there know it. As noted above this isn't Haiti, it is a territory of the United States. Get with it.

Troops should have landed to get any runways there ready to receive aircraft as the first order of business.

That was my thought. Fill the hangar deck of a carrier with supplies and load the deck with helicopters and get busy.

Make air drops with armed paratroopers to restore order and make sure supplies are distributed fairly. That's the way to go.

why didn't the governor and mayors do that ahead of Maria? you know, be ready?

 

[deanrd]

Trump is sending a 3rd Hurricane soon because he is racist.

There has already been three hurricanes dunce. Irma, Harvey and Maria.

And don't cackle. The season isn't over.

Atlantic Basin Hurricane & Tropical Storm Center - Hurricane 2017 - AccuWeather.com

 

[deanrd]

US helicopters should be flying nonstop to lift supplies to all corners of that island until roads are cleared and large trucks can get in. The response is anemic and the people there know it. As noted above this isn't Haiti, it is a territory of the United States. Get with it.

Troops should have landed to get any runways there ready to receive aircraft as the first order of business.

That was my thought. Fill the hangar deck of a carrier with supplies and load the deck with helicopters and get busy.

Make air drops with armed paratroopers to restore order and make sure supplies are distributed fairly. That's the way to go.

why didn't the governor and mayors do that ahead of Maria? you know, be ready?

With what? Send us your handbook on "How to prepare for a Category 4/5 Hurricane" while living in America's poorest territory.

 

[deanrd]

About 17 years ago Marxist Puerto Rican activists managed to get the government to kick the U.S. Marines out of a base on Vieques that they had been using for 60 years. Wouldn't it have been nice if the Marines were still around with helicopters, amphibious vehicles and manpower? I haven't heard them apologize.

So what about my question though? Why a bigger and quicker response for people that are not U.S citizens?

Prove it was quicker......and we werent dealing with with threes disasters at once

It's a joke to suggest the United States of America lacks the military resources to have a better response than it did. I don't buy the "but the other hurricanes..." argument for a second. We absolutely could have responded with the same urgency as when Haiti got hit.

U.S. response in Puerto Rico pales next to actions after Haiti quake

After an earthquake shattered Haiti’s capital on Jan. 12, 2010, the U.S. military mobilized as if it were going to war. Before dawn the next morning, an Army unit was airborne, on its way to seize control of the main airport in Port-au-Prince. Within two days, the Pentagon had 8,000 American troops en route. Within two weeks, 33 U.S. military ships and 22,000 troops had arrived. More than 300 military helicopters buzzed overhead, delivering millions of pounds of food and water.

Lets make it clear, they could have rung the EU/UN at any time and there was help on hand.. The UN is equipped to work on this stuff as well and work very well with the US Army, it ain't their first rodeo together...

But coming up to this Hurricane you could see that the WH had its mind somewhere else, they were warned and there pre Hurricane response was nothing like Irma even though the warnings were that it was going to be worse than Irma...

The thing is, we are 10 days after the Hurricane and there is still basic things still not in place... Power Supply is the major issue, without it Water shortage can cause an epidemic... Lets put this in context, this is America not Bangladesh...

too bad the politicians on the island didn't prepare properly. I'd be pissed at their negligence. Are you? Especially that mayor broad that didn't prepare for providing drinking water. You think all cities in the US should have water subsidized for everyone? I mean we need it to survive, I can't figure out how there wasn't enough fuel or water ordered by the politicians ahead of IRMA. It would have prepared them for Maria. And they would be a bit more able to help their citizens. Why didn't people evacuate? they did in Florida and Houston?

Is this Trump writing this? Blaming it on the victims? That's what Republicans always do. Doesn't matter if it's rape victims, shooting victims or hurricane victims. They blame it on the victim. That's why they defended Trump for not paying his workers or scamming people with Trump U. It was their fault for believing him.

 

[jc456]

US helicopters should be flying nonstop to lift supplies to all corners of that island until roads are cleared and large trucks can get in. The response is anemic and the people there know it. As noted above this isn't Haiti, it is a territory of the United States. Get with it.

Troops should have landed to get any runways there ready to receive aircraft as the first order of business.

That was my thought. Fill the hangar deck of a carrier with supplies and load the deck with helicopters and get busy.

Make air drops with armed paratroopers to restore order and make sure supplies are distributed fairly. That's the way to go.

why didn't the governor and mayors do that ahead of Maria? you know, be ready?

With what? Send us your handbook on "How to prepare for a Category 4/5 Hurricane" while living in America's poorest territory.

they live on a fking island where category 4/5 hurricanes will hit. It would be beneficial to the citizens for the politicians to do their job to keep them safe. why didn't they investigate ahead of the two storms? you ask, they failed. It's obvious.

 

[jc456]

So what about my question though? Why a bigger and quicker response for people that are not U.S citizens?

Prove it was quicker......and we werent dealing with with threes disasters at once

It's a joke to suggest the United States of America lacks the military resources to have a better response than it did. I don't buy the "but the other hurricanes..." argument for a second. We absolutely could have responded with the same urgency as when Haiti got hit.

U.S. response in Puerto Rico pales next to actions after Haiti quake

After an earthquake shattered Haiti’s capital on Jan. 12, 2010, the U.S. military mobilized as if it were going to war. Before dawn the next morning, an Army unit was airborne, on its way to seize control of the main airport in Port-au-Prince. Within two days, the Pentagon had 8,000 American troops en route. Within two weeks, 33 U.S. military ships and 22,000 troops had arrived. More than 300 military helicopters buzzed overhead, delivering millions of pounds of food and water.

Lets make it clear, they could have rung the EU/UN at any time and there was help on hand.. The UN is equipped to work on this stuff as well and work very well with the US Army, it ain't their first rodeo together...

But coming up to this Hurricane you could see that the WH had its mind somewhere else, they were warned and there pre Hurricane response was nothing like Irma even though the warnings were that it was going to be worse than Irma...

The thing is, we are 10 days after the Hurricane and there is still basic things still not in place... Power Supply is the major issue, without it Water shortage can cause an epidemic... Lets put this in context, this is America not Bangladesh...

too bad the politicians on the island didn't prepare properly. I'd be pissed at their negligence. Are you? Especially that mayor broad that didn't prepare for providing drinking water. You think all cities in the US should have water subsidized for everyone? I mean we need it to survive, I can't figure out how there wasn't enough fuel or water ordered by the politicians ahead of IRMA. It would have prepared them for Maria. And they would be a bit more able to help their citizens. Why didn't people evacuate? they did in Florida and Houston?

Is this Trump writing this? Blaming it on the victims? That's what Republicans always do. Doesn't matter if it's rape victims, shooting victims or hurricane victims. They blame it on the victim. That's why they defended Trump for not paying his workers or scamming people with Trump U. It was their fault for believing him.

blaming the local politicians for not being prepared you fking bet I am. I am pissed they are so racist, that they can't prepare like other governors and mayors. it's a sad sad day when you can't count on local government to protect citizens ahead of a hurricane.

 

[my2¢]

The restoration of electrical service throughout the island was most dire. In the continental U.S. that situation is handled by local utility companies with assistance from electric companies throughout the U.S. For example, lineman and their equipment from North Dakota headed to Texas and then to Florida to assist with their recovery effort. Much of the travel and coordination began to take place before the hurricanes hit. This was not an option with Puerto Rico as Trump tried to explain.

 

[ColonelAngus]

Again, when it took 2 weeks for the Fed to get to South Dade county after Andrew, I didn't declare that Bush41 was racist.

Turns out the Democrat governor of Florida, Lawton Chiles, was playing politics for the 1992 election.

How ******* Progressive, huh?

 

[jc456]

Expectations have to fit the preparedness. Now how many troops did the governor and mayor request to ride out the storm and put in harm's way? Wasn't there once troops on the island? where did they go?