Natural or technological disasters are their place of work. The soldiers of the French civil security are sent around the world to assist the disaster victims. For example, they went to Haiti in recent years in 2010 (earthquake) and in 2016 after the passage of Matthew, in Ecuador and in Nepal after earthquakes. Being with people in distress having lost everything in a destroyed environment, they are used to it. So coming to Saint-Martin was a mission like any other. However, they will find themselves in an extraordinary, even unique, situation.
"The situation is out of the ordinary," said Lieutenant Colonel Christophe (the family name cannot be mentioned in the media). With his colleagues, he was faced with a “real logistical challenge”, that of restructuring their organization and their operational center. “The prefecture has been destroyed. All the state services have been deconstructed, ”he comments. In a few hours, you have to reconfigure everything.
Of course the experience of the military means that they are able to act quickly. "To be and to last" is their motto. "Hard training, easy wars," they say.
As soon as Irma leaves, Commander Guillaume, who is in the prefecture, tries to call Paris with his satellite phone but it does not work. The prefecture group goes to the operational center based at the gendarmerie barracks in La Savane.
Again, Captain Joël is in a complicated situation. There is no news from his colleagues in the prefecture and the detachment in Saint-Barthélemy. He also tries to reach Paris but to no avail. "I managed to light my suitcase and it was actually Paris that managed to reach me first," he says. It is around 11 am on Wednesday. “I then report on the situation with the inter-ministerial crisis cell. I speak to the Minister of the Interior, this is the first time that I find myself speaking directly to the cell, to the Minister! ”, Confides the commander. Indeed, in principle, he must forward his information to the local authorities, that is to say to the prefect, who takes stock with the minister. But she saw her office blow by Irma. The captain did not hide a certain emotion when he saw her arriving at the COD de la Savane with his colleagues.
"The logistics phase is important, the territory is devastated," said Lt. Col. Christophe. The first reinforcements are already on the way and will arrive on Thursday morning.
180 soldiers and 60 firefighters will be on the ground every day for three weeks. “Everyone in Quartier knows me! ", Says Captain Joël called" chef ". “Tonight [last Friday], there is a barbecue! We're having a barbecue over there. It's going to be nice, ”he continues. But his greatest pride is certainly to have been able to help rehabilitate schools in Quartier. “Monday, school resumes and that's great. It is really nice to be able to say that the children will be able to go back to school, ”he believes.
Source: www.soualigapost.com
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