Federal responders witness unprecedented carnage in Katrina's aftermath

NEW ORLEANS--The carnage in the Gulf Coast region from Hurricane Katrina is taking a psychological toll on military troops, federal agents and emergency responders, prompting agencies to deploy counselors and trauma teams to the region to help rescue workers cope and to try to minimize incidents of suicide.

While death and destruction caused by the hurricane and flooding in New Orleans has created immense hardship for residents, many federal officials are also experiencing trauma, especially those who lost family members, friends and their homes. Others responding to the crisis have had to deal with seeing dead bodies, injured people and an unprecedented amount of destruction, particularly in New Orleans. Agencies expect more personnel to exhibit signs of trauma as the initial shock of the catastrophe wears off.

"I don't think the reality of the situation has really set in until these past few days," said Border Patrol Agent Jerry Martin, a field operations supervisor from San Diego with the agency's employee assistance program. He was sent to New Orleans to provide support to personnel with the Customs and Border Protection bureau.

National Guard Spc. Waldemar Rivera said he was shocked to see the New Orleans Convention Center, where thousands of residents were stranded for days without food, water and medical care. His unit, from Puerto Rico, was sent in to clean up a section of the building after the residents were evacuated. "There was a lot of shit, a lot of puke and a lot of blood," he said.

Staff Sgt. Rudolph Cicneros, with the Army's 82nd Airborne, was sent from Iraq to New Orleans. He was part of the initial invasion of Iraq and served in the Sunni Triangle, which includes Fallujah, where some of the fiercest fighting took place.

"I've been in the Army 14 years and I've never seen anything like this," he said while patrolling near the French Quarter. "This is never expected, not on U.S. soil. Iraq is at war, it's a whole different situation. Here, it's a city. It shouldn't be like this. This is horrible. To see things like this is horrible."

Federal agents and emergency responders worked extensive hours in the hurricane's wake, helping to rescue tens of thousands of people. Some personnel who were supposed to be evacuated with their families instead volunteered to stay in the region, even though they had lost almost everything. Other personnel came from outside the region and worked almost nonstop on response and recovery operations. But agencies are concerned that some personnel are suppressing their trauma, either by not talking about it, or working long hours to keep their minds off of it. In some cases, agencies have forced personnel to meet with counselors or take time off.

"A lot of agents kind of have a tough persona, so they won't seek help in the presence of their co-workers," Martin said. "The bottom line is that these are law enforcement officers. They cannot be going out and patrolling the streets if they're not at the top of their game. They can hurt themselves or they can hurt somebody else."

Coast Guard counselor Mike Thomas was sent from North Carolina to Air Station New Orleans to help personnel cope. Search-and-rescue teams from the station were the first to go into the affected areas immediately after the hurricane hit.

Martin, who is a chief rescue swimmer and trained in critical incident stress management, said he was helping personnel deal with the fact that some people could not be saved.

"It's an emotional roller coaster," he said. "It's the greatest feeling in the world when you can save a life and it's the worst when you can't."

"The biggest thing is letting them know that what they're experiencing is a normal reaction to an abnormal experience," he added.

Coast Guard personnel said seeing victims fight with each other to be saved was also horrible.

"Everywhere you turned it was people, people, people. It was just horrendous," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Lawrence "Noodles" Nuttles. His job is a swimmer, which means he rappels from the helicopter to pick up victims. "I've seen the best of people turn horrible because of survival situations."

He worked himself to total exhaustion, stopping only when another swimmer finally forced him to rest. "The only thing I thought about in those first 48 hours was doing my job," he said.

When Nuttles finally did sleep, he dreamed of people on roofs screaming for help. After the fifth day of the hurricane response, he was ordered to go to Mobile, Ala., and receive critical incident stress management training. "I didn't want to leave," he said. "I felt like the biggest piece of crap for leaving my co-workers. But I didn't realize how important it was to get out of there."