September 13-22, 2005

TSGT Erin Roberts reports from Gulfport, Mississippi for the Pentagon Channel. A second team was dispatched to replace the first team and continue reporting on the military support in the relief efforts in Gulfport and New Orleans from Sept. 13-22, 2005.

The Norsat transmitter allowed the Pentagon Channel to beam into more than 232 bases and 12 million satellite and cable subscribers.

MSGT Sean Lehman reports on the over 1,000 uninhabitable housing at Keesler AFB, Miss. Base personnel were evacuated to several locations, including some families moving into other base housing unaffected by the storm.

The Pentagon Channel teams up with an Air Force News crew to interview BG Bill Lord, 81st Training Wing commander at Keesler AFB. Keesler AFB was heavily hit during the hurricane.

The Pentagon Channel had many partners in the Hurricane Katrina coverage including The Air Force News Agency, the Defense Media Center at March AFB, Ca. a DVIDS crew from Defense Information School and Third Army/Crawford Communications in Atlanta.

The USS Iwo Jima and the cruise ship ‘Ecstasy’ were vital in housing the many emergency and first responders.

The Pentagon Channel crew worked with Kevin Tunell, media advisor to VADM Thad Allen and one of the Channel’s main points of contact within the Joint Task Force HQ.

With more than 6,300 federal troops, as well as the thousands of National Guard members in the area, scenes like this were common place.

Many New Orleans residents and local business owners tried desperately to keep the rising waters from seeping into their properties.

An interesting street sign points to the many local attractions that are now devastated by Katrina’s wrath.

National Guard and federal soldiers patrol the streets of New Orleans.

“Presence patrols” were used throughout the parishes to help local residents, protect property and assist emergency responders.

In addition to the Pentagon Channel, there were numerous international and national news teams covering Hurricane Katrina.

The relief effort was truly a joint effort. Many soldiers and airmen and civilians had the chance to live and eat on the USS Iwo Jima and Tortuga -- learning new procedures like how to address the officer of the day when boarding and departing a ship.

Camp Milos and Otis was a USS Tortuga project whereby volunteers built and staffed a makeshift kennel for stray animals.

Fireman Ray Whipple, assigned to USS Tortuga spends time with a friend at the Camp Milos and Otis Kennel, in New Orleans.

Two sailors walk from Virginia Beach walk away with a new friend they adopted from the Camp Milos and Otis Kennel, near the the USS Tortuga.

A member of the 82nd Airborne Division welcomes a local Algiers resident to one of the many food banks throughout the city. “Presence patrols” was one of the major missions of Task Force All-American, headquartered at the Naval Reserve Activity Base nearby.

A view of the city from the Algiers parish. The USS Iwo Jima and the cruise ship Ecstasy can be seen across the Mississippi River.

Algiers was one of the first parishes letting people return to their homes.

Vice Admiral Thad Allen tells the Pentagon Channel September 18 that he still had some concerns about residents returning. The following week, Hurricane Rita hit the Gulf coast.

Key partnerships were vital in the field for the Pentagon Channel. Army Specialists Tanya Van Buskirk, right, and Cheri Cramutolo, both attached to the Third Army in Atlanta. Ga. helped get images transmitted using the Digital Video Imagery Distribution System.

The National Guard was an important part of the joint effort of Joint Task Force Katrina. The city was divided up with each Guard unit manning a section that they protected, cleaned, as well as made themselves available to residents and business owners.

Another day rises beautifully over the Mississippi River in New Orleans, as the city looks to a new beginning.