I thought that the rescue efforts were pretty large scale, with the mobilization of so many troops and personnel and equipment. I suppose they are trying pretty hard, but they were way too slow. Most of the victims have been waiting way past 3 days, and still, there are places that rescue workers have not gone to.
Did you notice that the Black-hawk helicopters in service with the PLA? Apparently, those helicopters are probably the few that are more capable in mountainous areas. The other one is the dolphin type "Eurocopters", but I haven't seen any of those yet. In short, China lacks a decent helicopter force.
One thing that was interesting though - the airborne paratroopers. They were doing two strange things, that I haven't the US Army or any other force do. The paratroopers were using the mattress-canopy type parachutes, as opposed to the standard round parachutes that most standard Airborne forces employ. They must really trust their troops, as the mattress type are much harder to handle, and the landing speed is generally faster(so more people break their legs!). The second thing is that they are jumping out of the back of a transport plane. This is unusual, as most airborne are not taught to jump that way. (They jump out of the side door behind the wing.) The only ones who do jump out of the back is special forces.
They should really send us over to SiChuan to do some rebuilding. But this time, they should stop using bricks and use reinforced concrete instead. Of Course, it won't be so easy anymore.
2 comments:
From what I read and watch, the rescue is just too agonizingly slow. For everyone. It's bad to be stuck beneath rubble for three days, and the rescuers wont be feeling any better.
For me, seeing the schools destroyed is a painful one. Especially with the one-child policy.
I have no idea how Chinese airborne troops parachute, so I really don't know.
The helicopters must be having a bad time too, since the weather conditions are rather bad, with the rain going on.
Reinforced concrete? You can't get volunteers to build reinforced concrete structures. (Hehe. Just joking.)
Reinforced concrete as in concrete with actual steel beams. And be sure to give those buildings firm foundations.
That would take way more than a week, especially for us newbies.
We might even get a go at building furniture!
I actually saw a house made of bricks being built. I walked past it every Friday and Saturday when I went horse-riding. The workers worked up to 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. They took 3 weeks to get the house into a livable state(electricity, water...). The house was quite big, 2 floors and roofs converted into gardens and barbecue areas.
Very nice.
The news says that only 15 paratroopers were actually deployed. No wonder those nice steerable parachutes. (as opposed to a mass drop)
China really needs to build a better helicopter force. Most countries have all-weather capabilities, so it's a must if China was to get serious with anyone. The old Russian helicopters are supposed to be heavy lifters, but they are failing at that too.
More eurocopters... just get those Germans to send more samples across and then the Chinese will just start copying them. LOL. Saves the development cost.
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