2005 - Hurricane Katrina
Following Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005, the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) Amphibious Readiness Group, with elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), deployed to the Mississippi coast. Once there, they assisted Joint Task Force Katrina. U.S. Army Lieutenant General Russel L. Honore commanded the mission.
The U.S. Navy provided initial disaster relief, operated search and rescue platforms, provided berthing for local law enforcement, supported fly-away medical teams, surveyed operations south of New Orleans, Louisiana, cleared obstructions in the waterways around Pascagoula, Mississippi, provided supplies to the supporting ships and medical supplies, and performed community rescue operations. The Navy also had 63 aircraft from six different bases performing search and rescue missions.
Some of the other 28 assisting U.S. Navy ships were: USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), USNS Comfort (T-AH-20), USS San Antonio (LPD-17), USS Shreveport (LPD-12), USS Bataan (LHD-5), USS Tortuga (LSD-46), USS Whidbey Island (LSD-41), USNS Pollux (T-AKR-290), USS Defender (MCM-2), USS Gladiator (MCM-110), USS Falcon (MHC-59), USS Scout (MCM-8), USS Grapple (ARS-53), HSV-2 Swift, USNS Arctic (T-AOE-8), and USNS Altair (T-AKR-291).
