I heard some discussion on the radio today about the military's response to a nuclear attack on the continental U. S.  The assessment seemed to be that we are not ready for a catastrophe on the nuclear scale.  Which, to me, is not surprising.

I spent 5 years in the Navy, over 3 years of that on a nuclear submarine.  I know that handling nuclear, radioactive, and contaminated materials is not a simple matter.  You can not simply roll in to the scene of a nuclear catastrophe and expect to respond as you would normally do.  Everything must be handled differently in order to ensure the safety of the responders and to limit the spread of contamination.  The consequences of this was seen in the response at Chernobyl, where many of the casualties were first responders.

There are people available who would be better suited to work in this environment.  Typically, first responders in areas around nuclear power plants and Navy bases where nuclear ships are docked are better trained in dealing with these matters.  When I lived and worked in Groton, we routinely did exercises responding to a nuclear accident on a submarine at the base. 

Also, and perhaps more interesting, there are a lot of ex-nuclear Navy types like me who are around and would be more adept at working in those situations.  Maybe something like pairing up ex-nukes with first responders would help them do their job while the nuke makes sure that it is done in a way that will not result in their harm.  Of course, getting them all on some kind of emergency response list would be herculean task, but I'm sure that they would be ready and willing to help out should something of the magnitude of a nuclear attack happen.

Posted by: jcallery at 08:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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