Thursday, June 10:

The team arrived in New Orleans on Thursday, June 10.  The first order of business was for the team members who had not previously met to get acquainted with each other.  The rules and priorities for the deployment were reviewed and agreed to by all parties.  Among the things asked of all team members was that no reports or reactions to the things we were about to see were to be shared outside the group until the end of the deployment.  This was to protect the integrity of the team effort and enhance the impact of the team’s assessment.  The group was informed that Friday’s activities were to be a helicopter-based survey of Louisiana’s coastline and wetlands