Michael Brown has already been asked back to the White house as a consultant. How could that happen? Maybe you will be surprised, maybe you won't. But days before Katrina hit, Mr. Brown knew he would need to respond. Five hours after the storm hit, he called Secretary Michael Chertoff to dispatch 1,000 Homeland Security employees within two days to provide disaster relief. When Michael Brown tried to take responsibility into his hand, it was then he learned he did not have the authority to mobilize the help he needed to provide. He was the very first person appointed to a new position to head disaster relief, but no one had actually given him the authority necessary to respond at such a grandiose level. The Senior Secretary, Michael Chertoff, over at Homeland Security, was the man appointed to mobilize for “catastrophic” events on a national level. 36 hours after the storm hit, Chertoff recognized he needed to be the one to set the large political machine for relief in motion. So, at that point, he bestowed powers on Michael Brown (who also acts as his assistant for Homeland Security) to continue the efforts in getting help to Katrina Victims. The thing neither of them were informed about was two days before the Storm hit Louisiana, President Bush already set up the command to dispatch aid to the hard hit towns on the coast. This means the hurricane was of National Significance days before Chertoff and Brown were informed.
It's tempting to point fingers and say the real man in charge was somebody else. But Michael Brown has already played the scapegoat for many other higher ranking people in the political system. Now he has been rewarded for taking the blame by being asked back to consult for the same government from which he was given the shameful boot. Will America ever see him as a competent leader or will he forever be carrying the blame as a flag waver? The only one who can determine that is Michael Brown himself. He's off to a very good start to turn the opinion around.
Will Michael Brown find success as a Disaster Preparedness Consultant?
Michael Brown plans to run his firm from the Boulder area where he lived before joining the Bush administration in 2001.
“If I can help people focus on preparedness, how to be better prepared in their homes and better prepared in their businesses – because that goes straight to the bottom line – then I hope I can help the country in some way. Hurricane Katrina showed how bad disasters can be, and there’s an incredible need for individuals and businesses to understand how important preparedness is,” he said.
Brown said officials need to “take inventory” of what’s going on in a disaster to be able to answer questions to avoid appearing unaware of how serious a situation is.
Brown didn't doubt his abilities and went into the market to win his clients. He did attract new clients. One was an Oregon company producing large signs to be used during disasters. The St. Bernard Parish, L.A., has asked Brown to devise strategies to be awarded federal money for the Parish's cleanup effort. This is what Charlie Reppel (chief of staff to the parish president) had to say about his work: “He’s been very nice and very knowledgeable and knows the inner workings of government.” Mr. Reppell said the parish had taken some criticism for working with Mr. Brown. Other clients include: Jarvis Construction of Harrison Township, Michigan, and Shifting Culture, a nonprofit organization in Boulder, Colorado. Brown believes he will make an income as a management consultant for Disaster Preparedness far beyond the $148,000 salary he was paid as a Fema Director.
Michael Brown has more going for him than expected. Not only does he do consulting for his clients, he can also be a great asset for a company focusing on getting in on government contract work. He can help with the bidding process and actually make connections inside the government on his client's behalf. One of his clients to receive a government contract was InferX. The company found work with the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency. Another client, Noninvasive Medical Technologies, makes health-care monitors and has a contract with the Air Force for combat-casualty care.
Critics were hard on Brown's Idea to provide consulting in the Field of Disaster Preparedness
Of course, Brown has harsh critics; the town of New Orleans no doubt is at the top of the list. He would probably be tarred and feathered if he went back today. Fair? Well, reality is what people believe. This is not how Brown looks at his capabilities. He takes responsibility for the failures as if it all had depended on him. Today we know that's not true. Brown should have been an assistant to the man who was really in charge of disasters on a national level. Brown commented, “There is life after government. Even, after you have been run through the wringer, even after you have been thrown under the bus by the leader of the free world.”
