Why is USS George Washington still in port at Yokosuka?!

[J[_2_]]

This ignorant civilian would like to know why the George Washington is
still in port in Yokosuka given the crisis in Japan. Given that they
had to rush the Ronald Reagan to Japan when the George Washington was
there, why didn't they put the latter out to sea to help out or at
least get it away from the path of any radiation?

Thanks . . . J

[Peter Stickney[_2_]]

On Thu, 17 Mar 2011 05:30:25 -0700, J wrote:

> This ignorant civilian would like to know why the George Washington is
> still in port in Yokosuka given the crisis in Japan. Given that they had
> to rush the Ronald Reagan to Japan when the George Washington was there,
> why didn't they put the latter out to sea to help out or at least get it
> away from the path of any radiation?

It's in dry dock. Kinda hard to move the ship when it's up on blocks.
The radiation aspects are being way overplayed.
A Helicopter from the Reagan flew through the steam plume after
the first hydrogen gas explosion.
The crew got a slightly elevated dose - about that of spending a day
in Denver - and they showered and changed clothes, and the helicopter
got a washdown.
As for moving the ship - it's easier than playing the Monitoring Game,
and getting press about unnecessary exposure.

This incident only harden my view of the Press as lazy, stupid and incompetent,
particularly in situations where technical knowledge is desirable.

--
Pete Stickney
Failure is not an option
It comes bundled with the system