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- Frustration -
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Thursday, September 01, 2005
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Monday morning when I was looking at the devastation in LA and MS I told Chris, I bet you guys will end up getting called out. He said, "no way, they have the National Guard for that". Tuesday afternoon our Sheriff's Mutual Aid Response Team (which he's a member of) got placed on stand-by. I was frustrated, because it's hard having a 4 year old and a 5 1/2 year old, getting them to school, home, dinner, baths, etc...by yourself. Then I realized I was being a little selfish, those people over there need help from wherever they could get it from. So, my frustration turned to a little bit of sadness but mostly I was proud. When Kelly J called and put the team on standby they all let out a "woo-hoo". I joked that it was probably because they get a break from their wives/girlfriends/kids/etc... Not so much.
When they were put on stand-by Tuesday they were told at about 3:00pm that they were leaving that night. So I left work, got home, helped Chris pack for 21 days, made of list of necessities, like bug spray with DEET, bottled water, batteries, etc. Tuesday night they were told they would most likely leave with Pinellas County Wednesday morning. Yesterday at noon still no call. Then we found out Pinellas County had already left. Now, the team is getting frustrated, because they go from a big adrenaline high, cancel and rearrange plans, say goodbye to families and find out they're not leaving just yet. But what's the hold up? We all know how bad they need us...why haven't we left, it's a good 8 hour drive to MS! Wednesday night, still nothing. It did give the team time to get Tetnus and Hep A shots. That's a good thing. Chris was also able to obtain some suture kits and meds from the hospital. Hurry up and wait.
Last night while talking to a friend she told me during a conference call with one of the EOC's from MS or LA, they were saying to make sure we send people who are not only physically strong, but mentally strong. The state makeshift EOC is next to a morgue. There is no power which is causing a horrendous smell. That as well as the floating sewage and bodies. Rescuers are being sent to help the rescuers. It's a never ending battle. The news stations are going to stop filming live shots of the water due to the bodies floating. Sad.
Hurry up and wait some more. Today, we are informed that they may possibly not need us right away, but to continue to be on standy. Now, this is basically going on the 3rd day of standby. We know how desperate they are. Looting, shooting at the rescuers, fires, and yet they can't even help the people who need to be evacuated/rescued because of all of the chaos! Well, apparently we need a "mission number" from FEMA. This mission number enables us to get reimbursed from the Federal Government, because as we know, these guys are going to be working 21 days straight for about 16-18 hours per day, or as long as there's daylight. Our agency cannot afford that much overtime, plain and simple. So, how did the other counties get their mission number? Well, here's the catch. The other counties that are responding are LARGE. We're not so large. Their budget can afford to send people before their mission number is sent and wait until later for payment. We can't.
Here we have 10 guys, all ranging in rank, background, specialty, on and on, who have gone through a huge adrenaline dump. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but it's hard and I feel bad for them too. They get pumped up to go, they hear the reports of looting which fires them up (after all, they are cops), they start to hear from reputable sources that they need to mentally prepare for what they're going to see, hear, feel, smell--and then the downhill--they hurry up and wait.
So now we know it's not going to be a break for them. In fact, most of them will probably be very glad once they get home (if they ever leave). I'm proud of our guys that they can get up at a moment's notice, be ready for 3rd world living conditions, then come back without any kind of recognition and treat it like "another day's work".
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