In early 2012, I had an unexpected conversation with my friend
Chris Kyle (author of
American Sniper) about the Katrina debacle. I had heard rumblings about Special Operations snipers being deployed to New Orleans to support the effort to restore order. He confirmed the rumors and shared his own intimate knowledge that close contacts of his, many active duty Spec Ops snipers (some Navy SEALs), took leave to work for the controversial PMC (Private Military Company),
Blackwater.
Chris went on to tell me that the bulk of the guys he knew directly had racked up over thirty kills between them. I asked him about Rules of Engagement, and asked, “Who were they shooting at,” and he just gave me a big Texas shrug and smile. I figured out really quick that it was 180 grains of due process (usually to the head at 200M).
We carried on with our own personal conversation on the morality of it all over many beers, and into the early San Diego morning. It clearly bothered him, and it still bothers me. It’s obviously a very uncomfortable topic. However, if we continue to ignore what really went down, history has taught us that it will come back and bite us in the ass. I personally don’t like repeating my mistakes: make them, learn from them, and move on.
The problem with Katrina is that an important lesson wasn’t learned, and it’s continuing to be ignored. The morality of what went down when Martial Law was declared is an important topic of discussion. Private Military Contractors (PMCs), police units, and military had an impossible job, no argument there. However, killing fellow American citizens with Iraq-style ROE, all in the name of restoring order, should be looked at and learned from. Unless, of course, we are ok with putting due process and the
Constitution on the back burner in these situations. I personally would not like to continue down a path towards
Oceania.
In 2005, the most destructive hurricane, Katrina, struck the Atlantic coast. It would turn out to be one of the most costly natural disasters in U.S. history. A part of that cost is the unspoken toll on the American soul. This is what we will focus on, it is the stuff people want to put under the bed and forget.
Many lessons learned have come out of the U.S. response to Katrina, but most of the expensive government studies have dealt with streamlining command structure and logistics. Apparently, nobody wants to tear off the scab and have a philosophical conversation about the morality of what really went down when Martial Law was declared. A quick search on Google relative to Katrina will bring up the New Orleans horror stories: racial profiling, murder, rape, police cover up, and rogue private military contractors a la Blackwater’s poor hiring practices (I’ve witnessed this first hand in Iraq).
Why wasn’t this a bigger deal in the media at the time? Because press coverage was extremely limited. So now all we are left with is rumor and a few courageous individuals who are slowly coming out of the shadows to tell the truth.
Boots on the Ground
Two weeks after returning from my contract work I was sent down with 19th SFG to the 4th Ward. We took over a school that had been abandoned and that’s where we set up shop for the next 29 days. They wouldn’t let us do 30 days because then they would have to pay us BAH. The first night we got there someone dumped an entire mag of AK-47 into some guy’s car, killing him. From there it was an all out shit show. We operated with locked and loaded M4s and M9s with body armor, and in no way did I feel over dressed. While we only had one time when any of our vehicles were shot at, and we didn’t smoke anyone, we were the general law in the area. We would drive around, stop any person we felt needed to be stopped, search them and then move on. We entered any house we felt needed to be entered and searched it if needed. –US Army Special Forces Soldier
Just spoke to one of my buddies. He was deployed with SWAT immediately after the storm and worked New Orleans for a month straight. Once the storm cleared, the massive crime spree began. Looting, robberies, shootings, rapes, etc. It was chaos. He remembers specifically running into what he thought were Army operators, he wasn’t sure if ODA team or Delta, but he said they were definitely Army SF and they were geared for war, even frag grenades for the 203 (gold tipped?). They were on their way to a hot area where gun fire was coming from a school building for days without ending. It ended after he heard they got there. He said he observed numerous personnel in non de script uniforms, private contractors for sure, but he did not see any SEALS, although I don’t think they would be operating in the open and his SWAT team was never attached with any government personnel. He did say on day 4 he ran into another Trooper who told him he heard the SEALS were there and had been doing some work off a bridge, but he did not have specifics, just rumor. He did see a lot of bodies with gun shot wounds, but in typical New Orleans tradition, no investigation to speak of.
The rumors of SEALS being down there were floating around but no one from LSP SWAT saw or worked with any. Another friend who worked in the command post the entire time said he never saw any SEALS or SF, but after throwing out the scenario you mentioned, he said there were so many people whom everyone assumed were government “contractors.” They had no identifying characteristics and their “assignments,” unlike everyone else’s, were not run out of his command post. He did say there were a lot of bodies with unexplained gun shot wounds. Ones that were not already documented as NOPD or LSP shootings. Never were solved. –Anonymous NY State Police Officer who assisted in New Orleans
In an hour-long conversation I had with four Blackwater men, they characterized their work in New Orleans as “securing neighborhoods” and “confronting criminals.” They all carried automatic assault weapons and had guns strapped to their legs. Their flak jackets were covered with pouches for extra ammunition.
When asked what authority they were operating under, one guy said, “We’re on contract with the Department of Homeland Security.” Then, pointing to one of his comrades, he said, “He was even deputized by the governor of the state of Louisiana. We can make arrests and use lethal force if we deem it necessary.” The man then held up the gold Louisiana law enforcement badge he wore around his neck. Blackwater spokesperson Anne Duke also said the company has a letter from Louisiana officials authorizing its forces to carry loaded weapons.
“This vigilantism demonstrates the utter breakdown of the government,” says Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “These private security forces have behaved brutally, with impunity, in Iraq. To have them now on the streets of New Orleans is frightening and possibly illegal.” -From a CBS report and column by Jeremy Schahill
Rumors persisted while we were in New Orleans, things ranging from the crazy (some Cops were killed and skinned last night) to the lame (I hear we are here till Christmas). Like any deployment, we hated being in the rear. Every minute spent at the Naval Annex was another minute you could get screwed just for being there. One instance comes to mind, when the commanding general flew in and saw us practicing battle drills and glass houses. He freaked out and demanded that we tear that stuff down and don’t do it. Well, as soon as his bird took off we had those things set right back up. I was exposed to government agencies and it made me realize something, this was their “Iraq.” There were rumors of DEA, US Marshals and ATF getting into OIF style engagements. I personally didn’t see or hear of anything like that, but these dudes rolled around like it was Baghdad/Ramadi/Normandy. -82nd Airborne Soldier
Conclusion
Our goal at this point should not be about pointing fingers and conducting witch hunts. As a country, we should admit the errors that were made and learn to not make the same mistakes next time. Because there will be a next time, and I expect it will be sooner rather than later.
(Got a story of U.S. Spec Ops or private military contractors in New Orleans after Katrina? We’re interested. Send It to SOFREP!)
