Having years ago served as an Infantry officer in a National Guard light infantry battalion, and having been mobilized three times for duty (one lost child search, two civil disturbances - one of which kept us on duty for a few weeks), it pains me to see bureaucrats and politicians fumbling around in a disaster where generals are better trained and equipped to provide the leadership.
Back in the day, as with Guard units today, our unit could mobilize within 24 hours. We were self-sufficient for a number of days without resupply and for years - if need be - with supply lines established. We'd call our troops from their homes and jobs. They'd report ASAP ready to go to work. When the mobilization order went out, the armories in our battalion resembled fire departments responding to an alarm.
Our weapons, equipment, and vehicles would be deployed as quickly as the soldiers arrived to use them. Operations orders were quickly drafted and issued down to the lowest-ranking private. We'd have a thousand men ready to roll with food, water, fuel, communications, weapons, ammunition, medics and medical support, and everything else required to field a battalion without additional support. Soon after, the support brigades would send in their resources as appropriate to the mission. Those resources would be attached to (placed under the command of) the small unit or large unit commanders as appropriate. For example, if it was a rescue mission a team of medics would be attached to a forward unit. If it was a large scale civil disturbance, hundreds of MPs might be placed under a general’s command and deployed as that general deemed appropriate.
Infantry squads and platoons patrolling the ground had the communications and training to clear a landing zone and call in helicopter support if need be. If necessary, the grunts could pack food and water in on their back or conduct house-to-house operations.
Immediately upon mobilization, certain officers and NCOs began their IPB (Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield) so commanders and troops would have as much information from the chaos to deal with as possible.
Every piece if information was significant and processed. You would not have bureaucrats worried about how they look or being concerned that information was coming from the correct sources, or complaining about the lack of communications. Soldiers conduct patrols. If an officer wants to know what’s up in an area, He’d simply dispatch recon patrols with radios to the area and they’d report back. We trained over and over and over again to operate in strange areas and in total darkness in all types of terrain, including urban terrain.
U.S. troops know how to get around where other people cannot. You'd have soldiers feeding info up from all sources and that info briefed to the commanders. If word came up from any source (like CNN, or a refugee walking the streets) that people were trapped in attics or that hoodlums were preying on victims on the ground, forces could be immediately requested and deployed as the commanders deemed appropriate. I could go on, but you get the idea.
Generals are mission-focused and decisive. They have the power and resources to get the job done. They are trained to and in many cases are experienced in operating in the fog (chaos) of war. They are less likely than bureaucrats and politicians to worry about how their actions will play out on the news. They are unlikely to be overwhelmed by the circumstances. And they are far more likely to get the job done.
Frankly, FEMA, other bureaucrats, and the politicians are out of their league. It was evident days ago that the scope of the disaster required a full-fledged military response and perhaps martial law (and it would suit me just fine if shoot-to-kill orders were issued regarding predator gangs).
The failure to mobilize military resources earlier added untold suffering and death to an already terrible situation. It's a failure that will haunt the culpable politicians and bureaucrats 'til the day they die, as well it should.