(Afternoon) August 29, 2005: Army Helicopter Unit Sits on Tarmac, Awaiting Approval to Conduct Search and Rescue Operations

At Ft. Polk Army base in Leesville, a helicopter detachment begins waiting on the tarmac to deploy, according to a Los Angeles Times report. Unable to deploy until they receive orders from the Pentagon, they sit and watch National Guard helicopters conduct search-and-rescue missions until Wednesday. “We were packed and ready to go,” Chief Warrant Officer Clint Gessner, a helicopter pilot with the Ft. Polk unit will later recall. “We never got the call. It’s just a sad story, man.” “We could have been the first responders.” [Los Angeles Times, 9/11/2005]