U.S. Military Considers Evacuations of Military from Japan

Although it has not been confirmed, sources say that the U.S. military is considering the
evacuation of all military personnel, and dependents from Yokosuka, Japan.

Yokosuka is home of the largest Navy base in Japan.

As of Monday there were no ships in port at Yokosuka. The aircraft carrier USS George Washington
had been undergoing maintenance, but left Monday to avoid the plume of radioactive particles
that could flow over the base. Since the ship was "in the yards", when she sailed the crew was not
at full strength; and thus will not be able to assist the rest of the Navy ships that are helping in the
recovery efforts.

On Saturday a plane left Japan with 230 people aboard, and that was followed by another flight
Monday with 154 military family members headed for Seattle/Tacoma(SeTac) international airport.

These were voluntary evacuations under State Department guidelines, and are being paid for
by the U.S. government.

If there is a real danger to our military and their dependents, by all means they should be removed
from harm's way immediately.



---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

VA Handbook

The Veterans Administration has issued their new handbook for Veterans and Dependents
you can view it here
http://www1.va.gov/opa/publications/benefits_book.asp
or you can contact your local VA facility to request a copy.

Jerry