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The main pillar ofNew Orleans' successis in the cuttingedgeshared servicesvirtual computerhosting environmentwhich has seen majorgrowth since itsSSC Atlantic’s New Orleans office is located on the campus of the University of New Orleans Research andTechnology Park. The office includes a workforce of about 435 full-time military, government and contractorpersonnel who provide information technology capability, decision support and accurate data to Navy,Defense Department and other government agencies.post-Katrina rebuild.Navy history buffs may find the legacy of the SSC Atlantic's New Orleans office interesting,but others may be more impressed with its unbeatable spirit and ingenuity …Perhaps one of the greatest examplesof the hardy resilience and resourcefulnessof the New Orleans staff occurred inthe aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.Although the facility itself was notflooded, as a result of a nearby leveebreach, the buildings suffered extensiveroof damage, which allowed rainwater toget inside the walls of the building causingwidespread mold and water damage.By implementing its COOP, which allowedoperations to continue at alternatesites, work continued at full speed andmany employees assumed tasks outsideof their normal functions to continue tomaintain critical Navy pay and personnelsystems.Even though the majority of the workforcesustained personal loss and severedamage to their homes, operations continued,and in the weeks and months thatfollowed Katrina, many employees had todeal with hardships and attempt homerepairs from hundreds of miles away becausethey were still displaced.Relocated personnel worked at alternatework sites at Naval Air Station JointReserve Base Forth Worth, Texas, NavalEducation and Training Command, NASPensacola, Fla., and Millington, Tenn. Otherstelecommuted from the greater NewOrleans area and Washington, D.C.Yet, in those first bleak weeks in September2005, the single-minded goal ofthe command’s leadership was to returnthe workforce to New Orleans, and theydid just that.In July 2006, 11 months after Katrinahit, New Orleans employees were able toreturn to a newly renovated facility, thusdemonstrating extraordinary professionalismand initiative in an environment ofenduring hardship and devastation.Among the New Orleans office customersare the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve,U.S. Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve,Air National Guard, Department ofHomeland Security and the Departmentof Veterans Affairs.The former commanding officer ofSSC New Orleans, who is now the chief ofstaff for SSC Atlantic's New Orleans officeis Capt. Mark Krause who took commandof the facility post-Hurricane Katrina in2006. The senior civilian liaison to SSCAtlantic headquarters is Ms. Jackie Goff,who is also the deputy technical directorfor SSC Atlantic.Maria L. Tolleson is the public affairs officer for SSCAtlantic’s New Orleans office.Among the New Orleansoffice customers arethe U.S. Navy and NavyReserve, U.S. MarineCorps and Marine CorpsReserve, Air NationalGuard, Departmentof Homeland Securityand the Department ofVeterans Affairs.CHIPS October – December 2008 27