Re-tool the U.S. Military to Humanitarian Mission

The recent trifecta of Cat 4 and 5 hurricanes have driven home the need to re-think our sluggish (if any) response to the crisis of our coastal communities and our Caribbean neighbors.

• create a pre-response team so as to have shelter, transport, food, and medicine in place before the storms hit
• empower community response teams (more gear, more training, vehicle access, real communication support)
• send FEMA in beforehand go into communities about to be hit to organize and hand out gear like aquadams
• expand the number of ships like U.S.S. Comfort and move them immediately
• provide real evacuation options for low-income residents
• new laws to prevent airlines from price-gouging
• immediate housing:  put it to the Corp of Engineers to design an all-weather (but well-vented) canvas tent, embedded with flexible solar panels for lights +charging plugs for phones; solar panels can also power a built-in radio which may be people’s only way to get information in an emergency; explore water-collection technology being used in the desert setting to produce some small amount of daily drinking water
• Crisis Campgrounds sprinkled generously throughout the country, with both Tiny House communities and transient RV parks (use now to provide a place for people already-in-crisis to go to!); expand these until there is a surplus of crisis-housing; consider building these crisis campgrounds in rural outposts that need their economies re-invigorated because truth be told, people in those economically-flattened communities could do with getting some fresh folk in their midst (alongside the usual government aid and oversight).