In addition to two campaigns in a war, we find ourselves involved in...
...and oh, btw, we're also...
Just thought I should mention that.
Not that we'll get much credit for it. Well, we will from the Japanese. And probably as individuals from those we're flying out of Libya.
Meanwhile, a mild form of duck and cover is in order:
03/14/2011 - U.S. Navy Aerographer’s Mate 2nd Class John Dicola, assigned to Naval Air Facility Misawa (NAFM), assists a Japanese man during a cleanup effort at the Misawa fishing port in Misawa, Japan, March 14, 2011. Sailors from NAFM volunteered to assist Misawa residents after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Devon Dow, U.S. Navy/Released)
...and oh, btw, we're also...
03/13/2011 - U.S. Army Spc. Neil Stanfield, left, shows an Egyptian boy around the U.S. Air Force WC-130J Hercules aircraft assigned to the 37th Airlift Squadron that will fly them from Djerba Zarzis Airport in Tunisia to Cairo, Egypt, March 13, 2011. This response to the developing humanitarian crisis was part of an international effort to repatriate tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the escalating violence in Libya. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Brendan Stephens, U.S. Army/Released)
Just thought I should mention that.
Not that we'll get much credit for it. Well, we will from the Japanese. And probably as individuals from those we're flying out of Libya.
Meanwhile, a mild form of duck and cover is in order:
Officials Urge Precautions at Yokosuka, Atsugi
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 15, 2011 - Officials told personnel in and around Fleet Activities Yokosuka and Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan today to limit outdoor activities and to turn off air conditioning due to the detection of low levels of radioactivity.
U.S. 7th Fleet officials said sensitive instruments aboard the USS George Washington, docked at Yokosuka, detected low levels of radioactivity released from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant.
Limiting outdoor activities and turning off air conditioners "are strictly precautionary in nature," the announcement said. "We do not expect that any United States federal radiation exposure limits will be exceeded even if no precautionary measures are taken."
Officials stressed that these are low-level readings and the public is not in danger.
"According to the instrumentation at Fleet Activity Yokosuka, the levels are very low," said Navy Lt. Anthony Falvo, 7th Fleet deputy public affairs officer. "For perspective, the additional radiation exposure over the past 12 hours was about 20 millirems –- which is less than one month's exposure to naturally occurring radiation that one would get from the sun, the earth or rocks."
Officials will continue the monitoring program and will constantly check the weather and prevailing winds, Falvo said. If anything changes, base officials will immediately notify service members and their families, he added.
Let's not make a difficult job harder.
I'm sure the loggies are busy noodling that one.
How soon we forget when no longer faced with nuke-capable enemies.
The cammies help the squids get chicks. Camo is cool!
I guess I should have been more clear. I have been over at Blackfive and Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler and both Jackboot at Misha's place and Laughing_Wolf at Blackfive have good posts about the fears vs the realities of radiation dangers - which is what is fueling a lot of the talk about evacuating people out of Japan.
I'm not going to try to recreate the excellent work the bloggers at the sites I've mentioned have done, go visit and see for yourself what they have to say
Certainly if there are empty seats available and the dependents want to leave, they should be accomodated if possible. I just meant to say that inchoate fears shouldn't drive the decision.
How could ANYONE possilby believe that "inchoate fears" would drive ANYTHING done by Our Betters?
Reduced exposure to minimal amounts of radiation is not essential, but a plus.
As I said, and J(NTA) reiterated, getting the families out reduces the load in the infrastructure, and leaves the service members able to focus on the job, without the nagging worry about their families as well.
Additionally, (and as I said, the issues are already being worked) if they're out now, while the pressure isn't on, it's easier than getting them out if the pressure ratchets up.
However, things are bad and are officially acknowledged to be so. Radioactive material is not healthy and can be very long term in harm. Noone is likely to die from basic poisoning but that doesn't mean other kinds of damage cannot be done. It would be prudent to be very cautious near the zone.
The Japanese government is eager to avoid a large scale panic of the people. They might look calm but everyone has emotions and public factual knowledge is weak in the area of nuclear science and too much is unknown about those reactors. Remember these people are now highly stressed losing loved ones, children, mothers and so on. Then there's loss of property, taking aftershocks, running out of food and many are in shelters or without water or power. If they do panic the situation will actually get quite a bit worse and would likely be a bigger disaster than the nuclear accident.
One of the odd things I've noticed is the Germans seem quite a bit more wound up about the nuclear accident than anywhere outside Japan. Not entirely sure why.
As for the decision to move the families I think if I can have faith in it being good enough, surely you dinky die mils can. I do not think they are withdrawing them without thinking it through.