[Myrtle]

[ QUOTE ]
You are missing the point. Paperwork is not a real issue.

Quote from the Michigan guard:
[ QUOTE ]
Maj. Gen. Thomas Cutler, who leads the Michigan National Guard, said he anticipated a call for police units and started preparing them, but couldn't go until states in the hurricane zone asked them to come.

"We could have had people on the road Tuesday," Cutler said. "We have to wait and respond to their need."

[/ QUOTE ]
Do we blame the feds because the states did not request help?

More information:
[ QUOTE ]
One factor that may have further complicated post-Katrina deployment arose when Louisiana discovered it needed Guardsmen to do more law enforcement duty because a large portion of the New Orleans police force was not functioning, according to Lt. Gen. Steven H. Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon.

Because the agreement that was already in existence for states to contribute Guard troops to Louisiana did not include a provision on their use in law enforcement, Blum said, Gov. Blanco had to get separate written agreements authorizing Guardsmen to do police-type duty.

Still, Blum said, this took only minutes to execute.


[/ QUOTE ]

Again, a failure of planning in the Louisiana government.



Don't fall for the red herring of paperwork, it is not a factor. It is an excuse.

[/ QUOTE ]

...I'm not trying to blame anybody, nor am I missing the point.

I'm trying to find out whether it is factual or not factual that it took 5 days for the paperwork to go through.