The information in these press releases was accurate at the time of posting but may have been superseded by subsequent news releases.
By Crystal Hamm, DynCorp International
DynCorp International sent law enforcement officers to the Gulf Coast
to offer security to residents and the company’s employees, and to help
evaluate six hospitals hit hard by the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
Thirteen officers on leave from their regular jobs flew to Hattiesburg,
Miss., on September 2 at the request of H. Ross Perot and Tenet Health
Organization. They evaluated the loss of employees and patients, and
the hospitals’ structural damage and functionality.
The DI
officers were deputized in St. Bernard Parish and helicopters were
provided for their transportation around the flooded areas.
They assessed the damages to five hospitals in New Orleans and one in
Biloxi, Miss. Of the six hospitals, only one – in Slidell, La. – was
functional. The officers controlled access to that facility to maintain
peace in the wake of the hurricane.
The officers also helped
provide security to engineers while they assessed damages. And, in one
instance, DI officers escorted Tenet management to a local bank to
acquire payroll for their employees.
DI’s operation also contributed to the rescue of many animals stranded by the storm.
“When we searched Memorial Hospital … we discovered that the entire
parking garage was full of animals,” said Paul Gant, DI’s detail lead
for this operation.
The discovery of the overwhelming number
of abandoned animals led to the development of Operation Bow-Wow, in
which DI, an Oprah talk show crew and others rescued more than 50 dogs,
cats, and even hamsters, from flooded New Orleans.
“This
assignment is unique to anything we have done before, but aspects of it
are similar to operations that we are currently running around the
world. We provide asset protection in several locations including Iraq,
Afghanistan and Qatar,” Gant said.