Disaster aid puts new face on U.S. military

[AsahinaKimi]

Source: JAPAN TIMES


Monday, March 28, 2011
SENDAI (AP) Just one year after tensions over U.S. military bases in Japan forced out Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, a relief mission mounted by American soldiers after the earthquake and devastating tsunami is showing a new and welcome face for troops the Japanese have hosted — sometimes grudgingly — for decades.

Roughly 20,000 U.S. troops have been mobilized in "Operation Tomodachi," or "friend." It is the biggest bilateral humanitarian mission the U.S. has ever conducted in Japan, its most important ally in Asia, and it is ramping up fast.

As logistics gradually improve, U.S. troops have been moving farther into hard-hit zones and providing tons of relief supplies and badly needed manpower to help the hundreds of thousands of Japanese whose lives were shattered in the March 11 disaster.

Read more: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110328a6.html

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Sending the Marines.. yay!

[TomClash]

1. I never use this phrase but if this is true

God bless them. :patriot:

[Pirate Smile]

2. More:

In a part of Japan that hosts few U.S. bases, the Americans in uniform are a high-profile presence."To be honest, I didn't think much about the U.S. troops until now," said Arika Ota, 29, who works at an amusement center in the coastal city of Sendai. "But when I see them working at the airport every day, I'm really thankful. They are working really hard. I never imagined they could help us so much."
The Sendai Airport cleanup is one of the troops' most visible — and successful — operations so far.

-snip-
Within days of the tsunami, the USS Ronald Reagan was stationed about 160 km off Japan's northeastern shore. It had to reposition itself due to radiation from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear facility but is now sending sorties to hard-hit towns. The U.S. Navy has 19 ships, 140 aircraft and 18,282 personnel assigned to assist in the operation. It is sending barges filled with fresh water to help cool the seawater-soaked reactor site.

The air force has opened its bases for relief flights. Its transport planes have flown dozens of missions and its fighters have flown over the devastation in search of survivors. Two of its aircraft have helped Japanese officials monitor the nuclear plant.


The other interesting thing from the article is how many, while they appreciate our help, still don't want our bases there.

It reminded me of dumbass Donald Trump saying we should Charge Them for having our bases in their countries.

He doesn't seem to GET that WE want the bases there because of the strategic location they provide which we want for our military. That dumbass is supposedly running for POTUS and he doesn't understand that. Plenty of people will cheer - Yeah! charge the Japanese, the Koreans, the Germans, Bahrain, etc. without understanding that WE - the U.S. - are the ones that want to be able to stage our forces there for our own strategic purposes.

The Trump bullshit is getting to me. The ridiculousness of the press treating him like a real candidate just makes me roll my eyes so hard they may fall out and roll across the room. :D

[jtuck004]

3. Trump is the best example of how little any American can do with hard work and perseverance,

assuming you are born the son of a millionaire in real estate who sends you to Wharton. All that money and education and he creates stupid tv shows and gaudy motels with a truly astounding lack of vision. I mean, he owned real estate that increased in value during a boom, because his family already owned real estate. Imagine what those resources could do in the hands of a group of people who wanted to make the country better.

I am truly astounded at the people who don't realize that WE want the bases there, for commerce as well as for strategic purposes.

[jwirr]

4. That is a face I would like to see them use more often. Our current

method of "winning hearts and minds" with bombs does not seem to work so well.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

6. +1000! I also think there would be no shortage of recruits in such a "military"

I really do believe this would do sooooooooo much more to protect our country, while at the same time be the right thing to do.

Of course, I guess the profit margin just isn't there.

[Uncle Joe]

5. The deeper meaning of Semper Fi.

Thanks for the thread, AsahinaKimi.