Storm readiness, Louisiana

Keep the people of New Orleans, the rest of Louisiana, and Mississippi in your thoughts today as they face the unknown strength of Hurricane Katrina.
The usual practice in the US is that when there are natural disasters and emergencies, the relevant state’s National Guard units play a big role in keeping order, helping people, and minimizing damages. It’s notable therefore that just a month ago, more than 400 Louisiana National Guard members based in Iraq all simultaneously extended their terms of service with the Guard. (It’s not clear how much longer those soldiers, who’re serving with a Brigade Combat team, will be in Iraq.)
It’s not easy to find out how many Louisiana Guard members are serving in Iraq, total. But all the “stories” on the front page of the LNG’s website have the dateline “Camp Tigerland, Iraq”.
Note, though that the leadership of the LNG has not just acted as a patsy for all the Pentagon’s diktats about bringing home dead soldiers in a hushed, secret way. This piece on The Memory Hole reports that when six LNG members were killed in a single incident back in January,

The Pentagon told the Guard to keep out the media, but the families of all six soldiers wanted to share the sad homecoming with the world. Obeying the family’s wishes instead of the Pentagon’s, the Guard allowed the press… to film and photograph the arrival ceremony.

You can actually see some very moving photos of those ceremonies if you go to that link.
All the very best luck to the LNG and all the people of the state as they deal with the storm. And may all the loved ones deployed overseas get back home safe and very soon indeed!