The United States aircraft carrier USS George Washington sailed into Manila for a port call today after two days of exercises with the Philippine Navy. The Nimitz-class warship played a big part in the rescue and relief operations in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) which ravaged the central islands of the Philippines in late 2013. Its contribution to saving tens of thousands of lives in the Philippines was enormous and unprecedented.
The top US commander in the Philippines told the BBC that US military support would be on an unprecedented scale.
The USS George Washington, carrying 5,000 crew and moored off the east of Samar island, will expand search-and-rescue operations and provide a platform for helicopters to move supplies, the White House said.
Two US destroyers are already in the Philippines and other US vessels are expected to arrive in about a week, the US Navy said.
Pallets loaded with food and water have been taken from the aircraft carrier to Tacloban, the capital of badly hit Leyte province, and Guiuan, which was also devastated by the typhoon, on Samar’s east coast.
The USS George Washington: saviour of thousands of Filipino lives following the Haiyan disaster
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
The additional Marine forces Tuesday are part of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Four MV-22 Ospreys, three KC-130 cargo planes and 180 Marines and sailors departed Monday for storm-hit areas in the sprawling archipelago of more than 7,000 islands.
A Marine forward command element, which arrived Sunday, was still assessing damage and gauging needs. It set up staging areas at Villamor Air Base in Manila and the former Clark Air Base in Angeles City, according to a Marine spokesman on Okinawa.
According to a Philippine Star report published today, the USS George Washington is manned by a crew of “5,500 sailors, 320 of whom are Filipino-Americans.”
US Marine Pfc Joseph Scott Pemberton
This could have happened to any of the thousands of US military personnel who had been on rest-and-recreation (R&R) forays into any Philippine port — including one or any of the 320 Filipino-American crewmembers of the USS George Washington. One wonders then:
Had Pemberton been one of those 320 Filipino-American navy men in the USS George Washington, what would be the rallying cry of the ‘activist’ groups that had latched on to this circus today?
An interesting thought experiment to say the least — but one that could test the thought frameworks (if any) of those that now use this drama as an opportunity to demonise the US forces now working with the Philippine Government and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that governs this working relationship.
[Photo of the USS George Washington courtesy MilitaryFactory.com.]
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
If the US Marine that alledgely killed Jeffrey/Jennifer Laude is a Filipino-American, or descendant of a Filipino permanent resident in the U.S., then perhaps the protest will not be so strong as at present situation. Since there were millions of Flipinos in the US as US citizens or TNTs then the protest will be 2 different camps, one is pro-US forces and the other one is against the US forces. It will be divided on political lines, ideological lines, and those with Filipino-American relatives. I myself have many first cousins, niece, and nephews who were born in America.
If he was a FilAm, he probably would have figured out that Jeffrey was a drag queen
Not necessarily. Don’t interchange Fil – Am with local.
Jeffrey tricked the Marine..not telling he’s a drag queen. Trickster paid with his life. Won’t be pulling tricks no more. Oh, when Jeffrey meets Baal in that warm cozy place he’s going to trick Baal as well.
Deception is bad. Murder also bad.
Condoning murder’s also bad, ya know? Or has this place been run over by gay bashers and homophobes?
What would happen?? To begin with, a Fil-Am probably wouldn’t expose himself as a US service man. He wouldn’t be that obvious. Even if he wasn’t fluent in the local language…he would be tagged as just a tourist. Regardless, I am inclined believe there wouldn’t be as much hype.
To transition………..
I have noticed in many social media sites, Pinoys tend to (over) use word “racist/racism/race” to label/accuse other cultures/nationalities when, it would seem, that no other explanation could be accepted by them. Half the time, I really doubt some of them know what it really means (versus the terms: stereotype, predjudice, etc).
Having stated these; this “Pemberton Hype” is all about race. Secondary to the opportunity to sabatoge the much needed VFA/military ties with the US.
Honestly, to prevent this from happening:
– KEEP THE GIRLS OFF THE STREET (to include the guys who look like girls!).
– To families who “can’t afford”; STOP HAVING OR PIMPING YOUR KIDS!
– finally — VOTE WISELY!!!!
Just a thought.
Those activists would still be beating up their drums and thumping the streets against the VFA. If the perpetrator had Pinoy ancestry, it really wouldn’t be different, our partiality to successful Filipino-Americans notwithstanding.
On another point, though: no article on Noynoy’s statement why he didn’t grace Laude’s wake? A golden opportunity for bashing one and tacitly agreeing with the other! Take it and make an article, benign0, Ilda, someone!
We are addicted to U.S. help…our leaders are busy investigating themselves. Thieves investigating fellow Thieves. While people who are victims of typhoons and other natural calamities are left alone to survive , by themselves.
We should encourage the ISIS-Abu Sayaff to kidnap these political leaders and have them as hostages. They have to pay for ramsom; for waht they have stolen…
Actually, you are right. This has raised the issues of “White vs Native” again. Racism is a very real issue here.
Btw, most locals dont like Fil-Am either. Filipinos do not like anyone that is not poor.
If he was Fil-Am, he prolly won’t be with a transgender since his 12th cousin would introduce him to people with naturally overdeveloped chests and underdeveloped phallus (basically female in anatomy). Even if familial relationship is distant, many (not necessarily most) Filipinos would acknowledge the relationship.
If he were fil-am, jeffrey wouldn’t have gone for him. He doesn’t look like an”ATM Machine”
If he was Fil-Am: “baka gusto pa utang…lista muna diyan…” Then, TNT na…