"Whenever there's a crisis

like this, it's part of First Army's mission to send a colonel and staff

to coordinate federal assistance ... and make sure they have the staffing

and equipment they need," explained Col. Rob Saxon of Peachtree City,

public information officer for First Army.

Saxon and a handful of other

officials from Fort Gillem traveled to New York to make sure things were

going according to plan.

The Forest Park headquarters

has responsibility for coordinating federal assistance for disasters in

the eastern half of the United States, Saxon said, under a program known

as the Federal Response Plan.

A defense coordinating element

is a rapidly deployable unit, headed by a defense coordinating officer,

that provides the Federal Emergency Management Agency unique Department

of Defense assistance to help victims get their lives