I can tell its driving the S.O. nuts not to be in Japan right now. (Its driving me nuts-I want to be there and help). Some selected quotes from the S.O:
On CNN live report from Japan, most reporters’re telling that they’re amazed how calm and patient victims are, no one is yelling even on the long line to get food, gas, etc. They’re also amazed how good descipline Japanese culture is. I’m sure those reporters went to many disaster places all over the world and saw misery before. I’m very happy to hear that and proud of being Japanese!
Actually I am kind of amazed that American reporters are picking up on this. Anyone who has lived in Japan is not surprised-but trying to extrapolate a lesson for Americans is a stretch I think. Americans would never put up with everything else that goes with being Japanese-except if they live in Japan. And even then, most of us there in Japan, try to assimilate into the culture-only to realize we can’t.
The Governor of Tokyo, Ishihara said to the press that the tsunami was judgment. How rude! I’m sure many victims in Tohoku will be upset. He was trying to say that current Japanese government is using tsunami for changing their disrepute to reputable, but I think he is too thoughtless as a Japanese & as a governor!
Not really surprising about Ishihara. If you have followed him carefully-he will find a way to blame it on the Gaijin soon enough.
Couldn’t stop crying. This girl (Minamisanriku townhouse employee) kept telling to entire town by disaster prevention radion “Run, run away now, escape, evacuate!” till tsunami attacked. Later someone saw that the girl was swept away..Very sad story.
It was a sad story. I felt like crying too.
Heartbreaking! Whenever CNN news features Sendai’s disaster, my heart is crying! I was born in Sapporo but my family moved to Sendai when I was 9 months baby. I grew up there till Ele. school graduation. It’s like a my childhood hometown, warm people, ???all kinds of fresh sea food, local diarect, happy & good memories, etc. I do hope Sendai will be retrieved, ??? Sendai!!
Sendai is a great city. And the S.O. did spend her childhood there. She counts Sendai as home-the same way I count Pittsburgh as home.
And the fifty who volunteered to stay at the reactors which is tantamount to a death sentence.
As a student of history one only needs to look at the ferocity and tenacity of the Japanese during WWII. It took the same level of tenacity and perseverance to build the Japan of last week from the ashes. I expect we will see the same level of effort applied to control the current situation and to rebuild the affected area.
Having been through fire together and gained a mutual level of respect, I know that Japan has/will be there in America’s time of need, in turn America will be there in Japan’s hour of need.
My prayers go out to all those affected, and I’m doing my part to help.
heartwarming story
My best to your SO. My wife lost her mother last month, to causes that were most likely treatable in the land of the big PX, but not so in their homeland of Mongolia. Not that Liver disease and tsnamai are equal threats, but I can equat the SO’s pain for not being able to help against a foe which we don’t see stateside.
Personally, I spent a two month period anchored off a Japanese port just north of Hiro and came to enjoy and respect everyday life in Japan. In my mind; the most obscene part of the tragedy, beyond the loss of life and livehoods, are the normally well kept neighborhoods scraped to the foundation. I believe that I would have had a similar experience had I been in Sandai for a similar repair at anchor period. God bless and if I should find myself in Sendai, I will remember the SO’s experience and offer some respect to her memories.
Skippy,
A view from the scene. Right now CFAY is under a voluntary evacuation order. They are asking for volunteers to evacuate (both military dependents and USCS personnel), and to complete their NEO packages. A U-tube video from the CO of Atsugi explains that they are going to start receiving flights from USAF at Atsugi, Yokotal and Narita to move people over to Korea, and from their FFT.
There isn’t a mandatory NEO yet, but I imagine that it will come this weekend, so I am at home filling out the paperwork and getting things together. A capital ship here is planning on leaving this weekend, and has issues an actual NEO for its crewmembers families. The word is that if things don’t get under control by at least Sunday we should all be out.
MaurIce,
Wow! I would never have thought that would happen.
Skippy,
Did you take a look at the Atsugi U-tube video. The skipper was right, it is a reversal of what we plan for, this time sending people to Korea and not the other way around. They are planning on getting at least 10,000 through a day, just through those three airports (Atsugi, Yokota, Narita).
Still long lines to get gas here in Yokosuka, and ther is a 5 gallon limit (which will still cost you $15).
But right now it looks like things are normal, and the SO (JN national) and I had a long talk as to if I would be going alone or accompanied.
What did you decide?
Skippy,
I was looking at the CFAY Facebook page when a person asked a question conerning entitlements to evacuees. He referred them to the DSSR (Ch 6). I took a look, and found something interesting that applies to my situation, specifically:
612.3 Locally Employed American Citizens Not Covered These regulations do not apply to: (2) locally hired American citizens who work for the U.S. Government but who do not have an agreement for return transportation to the United States at Government expense.
That part (2) applies to me. I am a Local Hire. Earlier today, HRO Yoko sent out a data call to my DH to find out who would leave, and they mentioned the fact that for Local Hires, I am to bear the cost burden of transporting my SO.
That affects most of my office, since only one person is here on a TA. Funny, how they will want to pull this out now. In a way, I do have a TA since according to CNIC, I am under the 5 year overseas rule, and in theory will have transportation back to the States then, but now they are saying that I am not eligible to be evacuated.
I guess I will just have to ride it out here, or take an extended trip down to Sasebo or Oki.
See, and I would have thought you would be “key and essential” so they would not let you leave.
Good luck. There is room for you in shopping mall if you need it.
Skippy,
There will be plenty of Lessons Learned from this event. I think the one quote that I will remember for all times is the one from the CO of Atsugi, when he said we have planned to do this type of thing of bringing people from Korea to Japan in the event of an emergency, so it should be easy to just do it in the opposie direction.
Plenty of misinformation and mass confusion, with no one saying who’s in charge. You have CTF70 telling people one thing, C7F saying another, then CNFJ/CNIC (using both hats and speaking out of both sides of the mouth at the same time) saying another. Not to mention, the various “Flag wives” who seem to think they need to be in the “need to know” on decision making. We drill on these types of things, and say that they went great, but when it really happens, the plan flies out the window.
Case in point, they made the voluntary call yesterday, and so far there have not been any flights dedicated for moving dependents out (when we were told flights were standing by). Now they are not sending people to Korea, but to the west coast direct, with no clear destination yet.
I guess I will just find my old Devo costume, put on my pyramid hat and eat a can of tuna for the iodine and just bunker down.
Maurice,
Went once to the PEN to poke a JLOTS event that had been in swirl for 2 years. It was disgusting to watch the 4 and the 3 refuse the honor and then to see the 3 tell us and the 4 that if the CINC tapped them for the honor how the 3 would just point at the 4 and make it his problem. USFK sucked. The JLOTS coordinator and I departed for beer. It was way too late to pull off an event like that. Missed opportunity.
Curtis,
That basically is what is going on here. TRANSCOM will not come up with the aircraft to support. CO of Atsugi had briefed that they should be able to get 10,000/day out. We finally have word that a flight will start today, and that they hope to get at least 4,000 out today.
Also, we have reports that since it is Spring Break back in the states for the most part, not many flghts are available for further transfer to safehavens on short notice. Right now flights are going to SETAC, and there is about an 8 hour process wait for furhter transfer. They may open another airport for evacuees, but that is just in the planning stages.
I think that all of those exercises we spend money on, need to be scrapped and started over to make them more realistic, and instead of using the “assumptions” that you will have the support, plan them on not having it and all of the BS that you have to go through.
Maurice,
Been a bit under the weather of late. My mom was here for the last week. She told me some stories about getting out of Nuremburg in the event back when I was 6 weeks old, 1961. She and a friend drove us all to the planned dispersal point for families in Germany. When she said it was in Spain I laughed out loud and asked, “Franco’s Spain”? and sure enough. That was the plan for all military dependents to get out if the USSR decided a little Germany wasn’t enough. It took days and I can only guess what buffoon came up with Spain as the primary evac point.
Understand that minutes before she told that story I had shown her Achmed the Suicide Bomber You Tube video and she might have been pulling my leg a bit.
I can testify about the spring break part. I had a hell of a time getting back from Denver this week.
I suspect if you pull the thread the problem is at AMC in Scott.They can’t or won’t pull aircraft off of channel or SAAM missions ( loss of revenue). They could charter or mobilize NALO-but the other fleets would most assuredly whine.
Ah Scott,
I remember them well. Did a few things there that involved getting max priority airlift and dealt ruthlessly with the Scott weenies who asked who would pay for the lift and I would just laugh and laugh and say, ‘did you not see where each service will capture the costs and you will get paid later from OSD?’
There was the ORDER signed by SECDEF telling them to do it and payment be damned and one still had to deal with the damned air force attitude of “who will pay our 60% reconstitution fee on that?”
Should those in air force blue ever wonder at the contempt in which they are held by the warfighters….call me.
There at the end I made every effort to have my subordinates call those bastards since they went high order when I talked to them. My rule of thumb was always to let the chief do the work/call and the more senior one got the more that applied.
Skippy/Curtis,
You actually hit the nail on the head. They have been able to get only 3 planes so far. The distribution is 60% Yokosuka, 30% Atsugi, and 10% Zama personnel for each flight.
What the real travesty is here in Yokouska is that many of the MWR facilities have had to close. Why? Because many of the workers were spouses and they have decided to not show up but evacuate. There have been a few cases of MLC/IHA personnel not showing up, but for the most part quite a few NAF employees didn’t show. I guess they one day need to re-examine that whole “spousal hiring” policy. I understand you give up some to come over here, but if things turn a liitle sour, and you have the option to quit at no notice and operations have to close, you might want to reconsider who you actually hire.
Plus when I read the message about paying per diem-well I figured there must be a certain subset that is figuring out how to milk this opportunity for cash.