Well, I hope I haven’t missed too much. I’ve been in Japan for the last couple of weeks doing what I’ve been trained and drilled for for the last twenty something years and will be returning (at least, it has been inferred) next week sometime. The local Japanese have been very friendly and have shown our team every courtesy. I am happy to have been able to lend them a hand and have come to respect them even more than I thought I could. It will be good to get back to normal radiological routines, though. This has been an experience that I will never forget. The US Navy has done (and is still doing) a lot to be proud of here.
But the bonus in all of this was while I was at Yokosuka, I had the pleasure of touring the IJN Mikasa. It made the whole ordeal worthwhile.
Thank you for your service!!! My parish has been raising funds and sending goods over there. I’m always proud that no matter our politics or majority party, whenever disaster strikes, its always America there in a New York Minute to help, even our so-called enemies (which Japan is not at this point but there had been disasters in the USSR or Iran or other places that we can be proud of our response to) but you are one of the men on the ground helping. You belong up there with the cops and fire fighters after 9/11 and anybody else who ran towards the crisis instead of away. You are in my prayers and thank you for re-inforcing my pride in my country.
God bless you for all you do and may He reward you and your colleagues abundantly.
p.s., Did you get pics of the Mikasa? I have the Hasegawa kit of her.
I returned home just yesterday (the 11th of April- I had two April 11s thanks to the International Dateline). I’m pretty much jet lagged (jet, helicopter, C-2 and C-130 lagged, I should say). I want to thank you guys for your thoughts and prayers, but the Japanese are the ones that need them most. I did OK while I was there but am sure glad to be back. I am not in a position (I am not really supposed to say anything, really) to make any real assessment of the Japanese situation, but I will make a personal comment about the area around Fukushima; it will be a very long time before anyone will live near the power plants again. A very long time. The rest of the country will be just fine and after a good rainy season, it will be as good as it ever was.
The only pictures that I got of Mikasa were taken on my cell phone and are not really worth reproducing. For the first two days that I was in Yokosuka, they were preparing the ship for painting. Then scaffolding was erected around both masts and pretty much spoiled her for picture taking. None of the guys that were with me had any idea of her history or significance. I kinda set them straight but I don’t think they really got it, ya know what I mean? Swine…
subfixer - thanks for your good work there. We have been seeing some crazy reactions by other foreign governments on this. Canada’s reaction is a little strange for the import of agricultural products.
A friend of mine is an English teacher in Japan. His class had planned to come to the US at the same time of the earthquake. They were lucky and everyone made it through and are here now.
It’s good to see the non-lethal aide by our military used to its best effect.