The most obvious answer involves the donations by the Naval Academy Women's Club, the Brigade of Midshipmen, and many others who earmarked their Combined Federal Campaign donations to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

However, some Naval Academy personnel did more than just give money. Some volunteered to help with the cleanup efforts.

When Lt. Greggory Benton, construction project manager for the Annapolis Public Works Department, received an e-mail asking for volunteers, he didn't hesitate. He got the e-mail Aug. 30 and 35 hours later he was flying first to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., and then to New Orleans.

Originally scheduled to spend from seven to 10 days there, he stayed 30 days. He helped assess the damage at the Naval Support Activity New Orleans and the Naval Air Station New Orleans and oversaw the building of a $12 million tent city.

When Benton first arrived, the only people on the bases were security guards, public works employees, and the commanding officers.

"There were only about 10 to 15 people per base," he said.

Benton had expected the worst. He had expected to sleep under the stars and had brought some basic supplies with him. He was pleasantly surprised when he got to sleep on a cot in a building.

He spent his first few days down there, assessing the damage to the facilities. "The buildings were structurally sound," he recalled, "but mold and mildew had started growing and the smells had you covering your mouth and running for the nearest exits.

"Refrigerators smelled because they hadn't been cleaned out. We had to feed a few pets that had been left because people thought that they were going to come back in a few days. Debris was everywhere and there was no electricity and no water. The place was dead."

The quiet didn't last long, because rescue efforts soon began mobilizing from the bases. As contractors, Seabees, National Guardsmen, Marines and other rescuers began pouring in, Benton and the others responsible for getting the bases up and running faced many challenges.

Where could everyone sleep? Where could they eat? Where could they shower? Where could they do laundry? What land on the base could be earmarked for the troop and contractor support personnel and equipment?

"Some people never set foot in New Orleans, but they supported the rescue efforts by transporting supplies and equipment to get the bases up and running," Benton said.

Benton and his co-workers put in 18 to 20 hour days except for the day Hurricane Rita was due to hit. The personnel support had to evacuate with a few military staying behind. This boring day was followed by a sleepless night as everyone kept praying Rita would blow over quickly so they could get back to work.

Although the workers put in long days, Benton said that everyone appeared energized. "Everyone was there to get things done," he said. "We'd run into roadblocks and overcome them. These successes in turn fueled the desire to keep pushing forward."

He said they used the available resources and tried to think ahead and stay flexible. "There was a lot of give and take," he said. "Everyone had a positive work ethic and wanted to help. If someone needed help and what you were doing wasn't on the critical path, you'd stop what you were doing to help."

A 2000 Naval Academy graduate, Benton was uniquely prepared to help with the disaster.

Prior to his assignment as the academy's construction project manager, he was making plans to protect military bases from chemical and biological attacks during a tour with the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense in Falls Church, Va.

"We always want to deter a catastrophe from happening, but if it did happen we wanted to be prepared," he said.

The plans and procedures helped him with Katrina, but more importantly it was the decision making and thought process. Decisions not only resolve the problem at hand, but can impact personnel, operations and other plans at many different levels.

"It was a chaotic environment," he said. "There were so many high priority tasks that needed to be completed that affected others. You figure out the best coordinated plan and move forward. Time was critical."

What proved even more important than his knowledge of catastrophes was his experience as a Seabee. Having been assigned with a Seabee unit in Gulfport, Miss., he understood their capabilities and was able to use this knowledge to speed up the cleanup and construction process.

Benton said that the bulk of the work was completed by mid-December, but admits that even after five months, there is still a lot of work to do.