The Great Balance

It’s the end of my 4th day, there are snow flurries blowing outside. I just finished another 14 hour shift and for the 2nd day the wi-fi is down. It’s quite frustrating as I only have access to my new military e-mail and FB while at work. It isn’t much for keeping in touch. So I’ll jot down a few thoughts and then hit my cot. There are a small number of Supply Corps officers in the J4 shop. We all get along quite well and all seem to have the same impression of an organization not yet formed. This is an odd business. This is not Haiti or Indonesia. In those countries you can take more liberties in how you execute humanitarian assistance operations. This is a 1st world country. This is Japan. The Japanese have been quite cautious in the amount of aid and degree of assistance they have allowed foreigners to provide. I am not being critical of them. This is appropriate. As they are able to organize and take over distribution efforts it is in their best interest to do so. They are not a country to accept freebies simply because they are offered. Things are improving, roads are being cleared, food is being delivered, gasoline supplies are building, and most important the nuclear reactors are slowly being gotten under control. As these improvements are made the amount of assistance should begin to decrease. I believe this is how the Japanese military views it. That is how I would view it. Unfortunately life is more complicated than that. This beast I am part of, this growing HQ Command, seems poised to keep expanding. That is counter intuitive… except when viewed from a political (within the US military) standpoint. Someone commented yesterday that you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting a flag officer in the command cell. I have the impression that they want to jump into the effort to say “I was there to help those poor Japanese, look what great and wonderful things I did!” WTF?

I see the size of this HQ as being balanced quite delicately. On the one hand you have a great deal of bureaucratic inertia pushing for the command to expand and remain for a significant period. On the other hand you have an uncertain funding stream that, should it evaporate, will significantly hamper the Military’s ability to operate throughout the remainder of the fiscal year. I watch as this organization continues to expand and solidify. I also hear increasing cautions about the financial exposure. It is interesting watching this unfold from the inside. Politics make for a fascinating side show.