Veteran First Responders: Hurricane Katrina

Posted on 01. Feb, 2009 by gordon in Green Jobs

I was a Corpsman in the Navy and received advanced training in surgical technologies and in setting up field hospitals for mass casualties. During the last week of August, 2005, I heard that the response teams from the Louisiana National Guard were in Iraq. So, I started gathering supplies, equipment and recruiting other ex-military friends to volunteer. We got into New Orleans on Sept 1st 2005. We brought with us a satellite communications system, biodiesel-powered generators and solar systems to power our volunteer camps. We used the internet to document the conditions on the ground and the need for volunteers with specific skills. For the first several months after Katrina hit we organized donations of food, water and medical supplies and transported teams of volunteers from our camps to where they were most needed.

For the next three years I worked with several nonprofit organizations providing immediate disaster relief, medical assistance and eventually recovery and rebuilding efforts. I learned a great deal from the volunteers and people we helped about effective disaster response, recovery and rebuilding.

As Green Technologies Coordinator for Veterans Green Jobs it is my goal to share what I’ve learned from these experiences so that when the next disaster hits the Gulf Coast, the most vulnerable communities will be prepared and that there will be teams of trained veterans ready to help.

I hope you’ll explore this site to see how you can get involved, too.

- Gordon

Green Technology On The Front Lines