My son's company may send him to NOLA to help out but

I am concerned that he is being drafted as a grunt to do the cleaning up. He wants to go, because his company is picking up the whole tab and paying him LOTS of money. He would be working under FEMA that his compnay apparently has a contract with.

I am afraid for him. I told him he needs to be innoculated and beyond that I don't know what to expect, but my fears are that he will get a disease or infection or worse if he's there.

I told him to watch the news and to read the articles online to get a better picture of what he will be doing if he goes...

I am proud of him that he is willing and able to do this, but I do have legitimate fears also.

Any suggestions?

safe etc. I have had several friends do that kind of work in CA.

I think it's great he's going down to help.

drink bottLed water, carry disinfectent soap, etc.
where is he coming from? that may pLay a part as weLL.

and bring either Lots of faith, or a hardened attitude. :cry:

I am afraid of the dead bodies affecting and INfecting him.
I suspect that the "training" is to inform and harden him.
But this is a guy who sprays his room with air freshener alot...
Only has seen one body in his life, and that was his grandfather all cleaned up in a funeral home/coffin.

for firefighters. He will be getting his shots either today or tomorrow. I'm sure if your son is doing this for FEMA he'll get shots too.

Tell him to pack Vick's Vaporub. The FFs put it between their upper lip and nose to kill bad odors - it works.

I forgot this; I see that all the time in movies, regarding the coroner's office.
I think they had done it in "Silence of the Lambs"

Prayers and hugs to your husband as he sets out on this difficult mission!!

Have him buy a couple jars of Vicks Vapor Rub.
If the smells get really bad, he can rub that under his nose and it will help dilute the smell.
Good luck to him.

I see someone suggested it already.
Good luck to him.

Why are they not hiring the citizens of New Orleans or LA???

Where will they be housing and feeding Halliburton's employee's.

Among the thousands of people who were evacuated from NO there certainly are many who are capable of filling many of the jobs that Halliburton has contracted for.

after not having food or water for a few days, and the general confusion of it all. I would think they would like to spend some "down" time.
But it is a good suggestion for perhaps the next few weeks.
We need citizens in there so the military will not be able to get away with any shenanigans, like not reporting the true count of the dead. I assume that is why they were sent in.

I'm worried about him for the same reasons you are for your son. He's "our baby" and we don't want him exposed to danger, emotional or physical.

OTOH, he's wanted to serve his country his entire life and he's jumping at the chance to do it. We think he'll be with a medical unit, but no one is sure of anything.

My son hasn't made his mind up yet. He has a 2 year old son and is worried about leaving him for 6 weeks.
It is his decision to make, though, but I am trying to make him aware of the sights smells, and sounds he will encounter.

He works for an environmental firm in Buffalo, so they will be lending their expertise in water treatment and hazardous materials cleanup. He's a civil engineer. I hope he can do whatever he needs to do from here. It sounds selfish, but I sure don't want to see him down there. They're still waiting for a scope of work from FEMA.

They want him to hand out water and information leaflets at first then to do a rough GPS of the damage.