WASHINGTON -- The legalities of disaster recovery can seem murkier than floodwater, but for some Air Force families, making claims for belongings destroyed by Hurricane Katrina will be easier, thanks to Air Force paralegals.

Two teams of Airmen from various Air Education and Training Command bases arrived at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., recently to help survivors navigate the legal claims system to recover or get reimbursement for their personal property on base.

"The purpose of the teams is to go into the affected areas, evaluate the extent of the damages, document that information and assist the military member filing a claim,” said Col. LeEllen Coacher, AETC’s deputy staff judge advocate at Randolph AFB, Texas, who oversaw the teams’ development.

The 81st Training Wing’s legal office at Keesler was destroyed. Airmen working there knew right away they would not be able to handle the amount of eventual claims alone.

“When we came out of our shelter right after the hurricane, we saw about 400 cars smashed up just around … the building we were in,” said Master Sgt. Gaynell Smith, noncommissioned officer in charge of the 81st TRW legal office. “The hospital parking lot was flooded, and there were even more damaged cars there.”

A call went out immediately across the command’s legal offices seeking volunteers.

“People responded right away,” Colonel Coacher said. “These Airmen dropped everything to go down there to help. I know of one gentleman who chose to rearrange his schooling just so he could be down there. These Airmen really wanted to go.”

Tech. Sgt. Stacy Garnes from Luke AFB, Ariz., was one of those who responded. Working for the 56th Fighter Wing’s legal office there, he said he believed his experience in the claims division would help those at Keesler.

“I knew I was leaving my family for some time, but that’s nothing compared to what these families are experiencing,” he said. Even though he watched continual coverage of the hurricane on television, he said he was not prepared for what he saw at Keesler.

“A lot of these places are just totaled. You can try to imagine, to the best of your ability, all your personal property just being completely destroyed, and it still won’t prepare you enough,” he said. “Watching it on television is not the same as walking down the street.”

Instead of waiting for customers to arrive in a comfortable office to file paperwork, the paralegal Airmen are now required to go out and walk through the damage and debris, all in attempts to inspect and document property and belongings.

”The Airmen are trying to prepare and document everything ahead of time,” Colonel Coacher said, “so that when the families do return, the process will be made that much easier.”

In general, hurricane survivors will deal with a claims process that is no different than filing an Air Force claim at any other time -- just on a larger scale. People are required to file first with their private insurers, whether it is renters’ or vehicle insurance. The Air Force only compensates for what private insurers will not.

Links on the Keesler Web site provide printouts with information for those who will need to take advantage of the claims process. According to the site, Keesler residents can file claims on everything from furniture and vehicles to the food that was left behind in their refrigerators.

The situation at Keesler is a great example of how important it is for military families to be prepared, Colonel Coacher said.

“I know how I am, and there’s no way I’d be able to remember that I had so many pairs of shoes, or this type of electrical equipment," she said. "That’s why it’s important for families to have some type of documentation showing these items so that later on, you can get accurately compensated for them.

“I think most military families -- especially those who’ve moved around a lot -- have some type of household inventory, be it a list of possessions, pictures or videotape of their belongings,” she said. “Of course it’s difficult to go back to a devastated home with nothing there and try to reconstruct everything from memory.

She recommended families build an “evacuation kit” that contains an inventory list, insurance papers and policies, as well as other important documents, such as birth certificates and passports.

“Having such a kit will bring peace of mind,” the colonel said, “and it’ll help us (paralegals and judge advocates) help you.”

Sergeant Smith said she and her co-workers are thankful for the claims teams that have come to assist them.

“They’ve been a godsend,” she said. “The help and knowledge that the people brought -- it helped us out so much. We’re better prepared to answer future questions from customers and give them more information.”

She said the irony is that she and her co-workers will be filing claims for themselves.

“My boss lost everything,” she said. “It’s an unusual situation.”