Hi folks.. just read this in the Toronto Star giving more details on the relief mission Canada is sending to the Gulf States and what we’re sending:
Yesterday, the navy dockyards were a buzz of activity as crews worked to get the destroyer HMCS Athabaskan along with frigates HMCS Toronto and Ville de Québec loaded. Joining them will be the Coast Guard ship Sir William Alexander.
Whats on those ships?
If you’re Commander Elizabeth Steele, you start with tents — enough to house 1,800 people. Then add 500 radios, 6,000 toiletry kits, 6,000 packages of diapers and baby wipes. First aid kits, cots, blankets and portable air conditioners.
She’s packing a change of clothes for several thousand people — underwear, socks, overalls and “lots of hand sanitizer.”
The ships will also be transporting almost two-dozen inflatable boats, so navy crews can deliver aid to still-flooded areas.
But Rear-Admiral Dan McNeil says the ships’ crews — almost 1,000 in all — will prove even more valuable than the supplies. “We have a lot of technical people. Each one of those ships is a small town in terms of the expertise you can find,” McNeil said. The experts include engineers and linesmen able to string new power lines.
We apparently are going to link up with an American amphibious group to help unload the supplies ashore.
I see the American Ambassador to Canada is personally going to be there (along with our Prime minister) to wish us well and see us off.. so hopefully that means if FEMA starts acting stupid and doesnt allow us to deliver supplies for whatever reason (since they seem to be doing this with certain American naval units), he can give Bush a call and tell him so.