Letter: Kudos to the Coast Guard are well-deserved

Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006 | 8:18 a.m.

Your Dec. 30 editorial about the Department of Homeland Security -- headlined "Are we really any more safe?" -- is largely true, but what about the one agency that did it right during Hurricane Katrina? The Coast Guard had aircraft and boats working before the winds from the hurricane were gone.

The smallest of the armed forces immediately drew people and equipment from all over the country to get the job done. The last count I saw shows that Coast Guard men and women saved over 33,000 people during Katrina.

It is well recognized that the news media prefers to tell the bad side of any situation. How about some recognition for a job well done when such recognition is deserved?

Gil Shaw

Henderson

Editor's note: The writer is a retired U.S. Coast Guard officer.

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