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Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré, also known as "The Ragin' Cajun", is the commanding general of the U.S. First Army in Fort Gillem, Georgia and commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the Gulf Coast.
Prior to his appointment on July 15, 2004, General Honoré served in a variety of command and staff positions in Korea and Germany. He served as Commanding General, 2nd Infantry Division in Korea; Vice Director for Operations, J-3, The Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.; Deputy Commanding General and Assistant Commandant, United States Army Infantry Center and School, Fort Benning, Georgia; and Assistant Division Commander, Maneuver/Support, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. Most recently, General Honoré served as Commander, Standing Joint Force Headquarters – Homeland Security, U.S. Northern Command.
On August 31, 2005 he was designated commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the Gulf Coast. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was quoted on a radio interview September 1, 2005, saying: "George W. Bush sent one John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done, and his name is General Honoré, and he came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussin', and people started moving, and he's getting some stuff done. They ought to give that guy - if they don't want to give it to me - give him full authority to get the job done, and we can save some people." Stars and Stripes, the official newspaper of the United States Armed Forces, reported that Honoré had previous experience dealing with flooding at many Korean bases during monsoon season and supervised the installation of flood control measures.
Despite the fact that Honoré is African-American, there were press reports that Jesse Jackson had questioned why blacks had not been named to top positions in the federal response to the disaster, given that the majority of victims remaining stranded in New Orleans were black.
A native of Lakeland, Louisiana, Honoré earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Vocational Agriculture from Southern University and A&M College in 1971. He also holds a Master of Arts in Human Resources from Troy State University as well as an Honorary Doctorate in Public Administration from Southern University and A&M College.
External links
- National Veteran's Day profile
- An article on battle command by Honoré
- Department of Defense article
- "Theater Immersion Postmobilization Training in the First Army", by Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré & Colonel Daniel L. Zajac
- Pentagon deploys ships, helicopters, rescuers to hurricane-ravaged areas
- Article on cnn.com about Honoré