Prior to his appointment on July 15, 2004, as Commander, First United States Army, Honoré served in a variety of command and staff positions in South Korea and
Germany. He served as Commanding General,
2nd Infantry Division in
South Korea; Vice Director for Operations, J-3, The Joint Staff,
Washington, D.C.; Deputy Commanding General and Assistant Commandant, United States Army Infantry Center and School,
Fort Benning, Georgia; and Assistant Division Commander, Maneuver/Support,
1st Cavalry Division,
Fort Hood,
Texas. In July 2002, the U.S. military indicted Sgt. Mark Walker and Sgt. Fernando Nino on charges of
negligent homicide. They were later found not guilty. Honoré (then a
major general) responded by visiting the victims' parents and promising the U.S. military would build a memorial near the accident site to honor the girls. On January 15, 2021,
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that Honoré would lead a review of security failures following the
U.S. Capitol attack that will focus on "security infrastructure, interagency processes and procedures, and command and control".
Hurricane response On August 31, 2005, Honoré was designated commander of
Joint Task Force Katrina, responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the
Gulf Coast. His arrival in New Orleans followed widespread criticism of the slow and inadequate response by local, state, and federal authorities. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its director,
Michael D. Brown, were specifically criticized for the agency's performance. Honoré's direct leadership style drew national attention. New Orleans Mayor
Ray Nagin praised him in a radio interview, stating, "I give the president some credit on this—he sent one
John Wayne dude down here that can get some stuff done, and his name is Gen. Honoré. And he came off the doggone chopper, and he started cussing and people started moving." In one widely played video clip, Honoré was on the streets of New Orleans, barking orders to subordinates and, in one case, berating local police officers who were displaying their weapons as they rode past him. "Weapons down! Weapons down, damn it!" Honoré shouted. With both the New Orleans police and the National Guard, he is credited with shifting the focus from a military-style presence to a humanitarian relief mission.
Stars and Stripes, the unofficial newspaper of the
United States Armed Forces, reported that Honoré had previous experience dealing with flooding at many South Korean bases during
monsoon season and supervised the installation of flood control measures. After
Hurricane Maria devastated
Puerto Rico in 2017, Honoré described the situation in the U.S. territory as being "like a war" and said it was significantly worse than New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. Honoré criticized the
Trump administration's response to the crisis, saying it demanded a greater and more rapid response, with a larger commitment of U.S. troops to provide emergency assistance.
U.S. Capitol attack security review As a result of the
2021 United States Capitol attack,
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on January 15, 2021, that Honoré would lead an investigation into the incident. He suggested that fencing should be installed and discussed shortcomings in security. He was vocal on
Twitter about the response of the
United States Capitol Police officers, calling it a "shit show". In a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi by
Representative Matt Gaetz, he was criticized for statements he made in regard to certain members of
Congress, specifically for
Senator Josh Hawley to be "run out of D.C." and
Representative Lauren Boebert needing to be put on a no fly list.
Politics In late August 2009, there were reports that Honoré would run for U.S. Senate in 2010 in his native Louisiana as a
Republican against incumbent Republican Senator
David Vitter. On August 31, when asked on
CNN about the reports, Honoré expressed admiration for individuals who aspire to serve in public office but said that he had no plans to seek the Senate seat, as he was unlikely to win with the viewpoints he currently holds. ==Personal life==