Day four: Guard settles in; prepares for missions

NEW ORLEANS -- The soldiers of the 1140th Engineer Battalion entered New Orleans for the first time Sunday, setting up camp in a former party town that now is occupied by corpses floating in flooded streets, a million displaced refugees and mounds of trash and debris.

The short drive from Belle Chasse Naval Air Station to Alario Sports Center in southwest New Orleans also gave the troops a closer look at Hurricane Katrina's lingering effects and a better idea of the daunting work ahead.

Battalion commander Lt. Col. Robert Jones took a reconnaissance trip into the city and said it still looks bad.

"It's like a sci-fi movie," Jones said. "There's still water in the streets and some boats floating down the streets. I saw a limousine abandoned on the side of the road, with the back door open. It's like all the people left."

The convoy loaded up at about 9 a.m. and soldiers gawked out of their military vehicles as they passed the wreckage. There were bald palm trees, crushed convenience stores and several badly bent signs.

A McDonald's, closed for more than a week, still promised 69-cent sodas in its neon marquee. Siding and roofs on houses had been blown away, leaving only shells behind.

Closer to Alario Sports Center -- where the New Orleans Hornets practice in the NBA pre-season -- a Discount Depot was one of the few stores open. Two weary souls sat on a bench outside on a bench, perhaps sharing survival stories.

A line made up of at least two dozen people, many of them fanning themselves as they waited, stretched around the outside of a Piggly Wiggly grocery store.

After they arrived at Alario, the 500 or so soldiers with the 1140th and other attached units set up about 20 tents, including two large festival tents that would provide lodging for the troops after a day in the field.

Jones was given a battle update brief by Lt. Col. Mike Deville, the 220th Engineer Battalion's deputy communications officer. He and his staff also set up a tactical operations center in an upstairs area of the sports facility, with maps of the area and other logistical information.

Jones said that the 1140th will be working in Orleans Parish in northern New Orleans. He said the unit will be responsible for clearing sludge, tree limbs and other debris from primary and secondary roadways as well as away from municipal buildings, like the sheriff's department, school buildings and libraries. He said the work should get started today, but it could be as late as Tuesday.

The troops are getting anxious, something Jones said he realized. But he also said the work has to be done right. That takes planning, he said.

"Any good mission starts with good planning and good reconnaissance," Jones said. "We can't just pull into town and run up there and get started. We need to know what we're doing. It's important. We want to get it right."

Meanwhile, the troops got hot meals, thanks to the work of the First Baptist Church of Westwego, La. The meal included chicken and noodles, peas, fruit cocktail and a tall glass of lemonade or sweat tea.

"We've got a hot meal and clean port-a-potties," said Spc. Cassaundra Kinder of Florissant. "It feels like we landed in paradise."

After the meals, the soldiers set up about 20 tents for command posts, supplies and extra living quarters. Rows of cots went up quickly.

They admitted during a quick break that they try to stay patient as they prepare to go to work.

"It's just getting everything organized," said Spc. Paul Wilkerson, a 30-year-old radio maintenance operator from Bloomfield, Mo. "Still, we get antsy. We get bored. But then again, there will be work for us soon enough."

The one thing that went unsaid Sunday was that it was the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, an event that eventually sent many of the soldiers to Iraq for a year.

When he was reminded of the fact, Lt. Andrew Myatt of Farmington shook his head.

"Man, for us guys in green, these days are running together," he said. "But when we were in Iraq, people didn't realize we were there protecting Americans. That's the same thing we're doing here. For us, it's all the same job."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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