Reviewing history in the military, the Air Force and triumphs and misadventures in airpower.
Yesterday marked the eighth anniversary of the day Hurricane Katrina hammered through New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, killing more than 1,800 people.
Thousands of National Guard troops from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were on duty from that day forward.
The Air Guard’s participation in the Katrina rescue effort resulted in 1,282 victims rescued on the ground by Air Guard pararescuemen and an additional 161 by Air Guard rescue helicopters, according to a report by David P. Anderson, National Guard Bureau.
Air Guard combat controllers evacuated 11,927 people and controlled 3,249 helicopter sorties.
Read more from Anderson’s assessment here.
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