Earth Equity News

Are Pakistan Relief Efforts a Training Exercise for Climate Change Disasters? By Nathanial Gronewold, ClimateWire, 10/14/10. “Some 12 weeks since the onset of devastating flash floods left a half-million Pakistanis stranded, U.S. forces are still actively assisting the Pakistani military with delivering aid to populations in need… U.S. embassy officials say they expect troops to be here doing this work until at least November. The troops involved say they have all trained heavily in disaster relief work since enlisting, but many also admit that they never expected to actually be putting the training to work, expecting instead to be engaged in combat… In February, the U.S. Department of Defense released a Quadrennial Defense Review Report [PDF, 128 pp] that… calls climate change an ‘accelerant of instability’ that could increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters, taxing civilian disaster relief capabilities and requiring more regular military support. DOD has been among the first on scene responding to a string of mass-casualty disasters caused by earthquakes, including the devastating quake in northern Pakistan in 2005… Riding with and interviewing the men and women engaged in efforts here shows that, for most enlisted personnel, relief work in foreign lands is among the most welcome and rewarding parts of their service. It's also almost as exhausting and stressful as combat, and not without its own levels of danger and deadly threats, especially in northern Pakistan.”