Master Chaplain's Arthur Martinez Senior Chaplain Jessica Martinez
Comments on their deployment to New Orleans

Senior Chaplain Jessica Martinez is a Certified Senior Chaplain, Certified Law Enforcement Chaplain and former Police Officer for the Fresno Police Department in California. Jessica is also a desert storm, desert shield veteran. Jessica is the first Chaplain in 2006 to be recommended to for The Presidents Call To Service Award, having well over four thousand hours in volunteer service to Law Enforcement, Fire and Rescue Departments and the community at large.

During 2005 Chaplain's Arthur & Jessica Martinez were the first chaplains deployed by Chaplain Fellowship Ministries to New Orleans, The Parrish of Algiers, Lanier and the La. State Police Training Academy. They worked as a team counseling New Orleans police Officers who were on duty from day one. Arthur & Jessica also worked counseling fire fighters who had lost there fire stations and there homes and had no idea where there families were. Most of the Police Officers and Fire Fighters stayed on the job not knowing if their families were safe or been lost in the wake of katrina. Chaplain's Arthur & Jessica Martinez gives the US Coast Guard a lot of credit for saving many lives during the disaster, in their words the Coast Guard were true heroes.

The following are comments from Chaplain Arthur Martinez. Please be for warned! Chaplain Martinez's comments are blunt and to the point. Chaplain Martinez feels the truth must be told as seen with his own eyes and experiences while deployed during the Katrina disaster.

The real problems that we seen were the Mayor of New Orleans, Nagin wanted to be in charge, FEMA ran the show under Mike Brown who was a very big problem himself. Mike Brown was stunned and had no clue as to how to handle this disaster. Governor Blanco also wanted to be in charge, they all wanted to be Chiefs and no Indians. Its a matter of record President Bush offered three times to send what ever help they needed, but they refused the help because they were fighting over who was going to be in charge.

While the battle over who was going to be in charge was raging on, police officers were shooting and killing looters who were running rampant among the folks that lived in the projects where the worse flooding had take place. Regardless of what the public has been told, there were people being killed and raped. Children were raped, and had their throats cut, there were many people shot in the head, dead body's floating in the water everywhere.

FEMA would not allowing Doctors to help or even give CPR, they even stopped doctors from helping many of the victims, because they were not FEMA certified. We counseled at least 800 people who said they tried to do there job, but were not allowed to because of all the red tape. There were so many things going on which we are to ashamed to tell, things that we will have to live with the rest of our lives, things that we never would have dreamed could have happen in the United States of America.

We could not understand when we were there, and we still do not understand to this day, why were we not dropping MRE's and water to these poor people. We do it in war times, we do it in other countries during disasters. We do it in Iraq and Afghanistan all the time right now. Just to be there and see Americans living in conditions worse than that in any third word country was beyond our belief and understanding. We have both been police officers and served in war time. We just could not believe this was happening right here in front of us, at home, in the most powerful country in the world. After seeing how this disaster was handled, there is little doubt in our minds at all, that we are not ready for another terrorist attack, we are doomed unless some major changes are made.

The real true leaders in this disaster, was the United States Coast Guard, and a few high ranking officers in the police department along with the members of the Fire department , EMS and EMT units. They took their people into the disaster torn areas performing rescues of thousands. These brave heroes could care less about who wanted to be in charge, they were there to save lives, and they did. We were there and seen it with my our eyes people, chaos beyond anyone's imagination. There are those who will say do not believe any of this, well it did happen, and it is all true.

The sad truth is, the city is now, and always will be a Toxic Dump, human waste, bodies, spoiled food, oil, gas, chemicals of all kinds. There is a great deal of work that has to be done there, and we will go back when the time is right. God Bless the Police Chief who you heard resigned, when in fact Mayor Nagin got rid of him. We all need to remember what has happened here, and pray for wisdom & guidance everyday, because we have just begun to see true lawlessness in our country.

I have so much to say, and I will as I go through debriefings, it will forever be with us. We are truly humbled to have been able to serve nearly a month in Louisiana. We are also humbled and blessed to be a part of a truly God fearing Ministry which gave us 100% backing, and stayed in contact with us on a daily bases.

Thank God for cell phones. Chappy my brother, We love you and Tina, thank you both for all your encouragement and prayers, it kept us going. God Bless you both and the Chaplains of Chaplain Fellowship Ministries.

Respectfully
Master Chaplain Arthur J Martinez & Senior Chaplain Jessica Martinez

We are a nondenominational ministry of presence with ministers, pastors, priests and bishops serving worldwide as chaplains. © Chaplain Fellowship Ministries International Inc.