Military

Camp Pendleton Marines Assist In Japan Relief Efforts

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published March 30, 2011 at 3:00 AM PDT

This story was published more than 13 years ago.

Almost 50 Marines have deployed from Camp Pendleton to help with relief efforts in Japan.

First Lt. Rebecca Burgess of the Ist Marine Logistics Group at the Marine base said most of them are specialists with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense.

"This is their specialty,” she said. “This is what they deal with. They deal with chemicals and radiology. They are going to be conducting survey missions, basically to monitor the radiation coming from the nuclear plant to ensure the safety of the service members who are conducting humanitarian missions over in Japan."

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The Marines' job is to inspect military aircraft that have delivered aid to civilians in distressed areas, and decontaminate the planes if necessary.

Half of those who have deployed to Japan from the Ist Marines Logistics Group are younger than 20 years old. They are supporting the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, which is based in southern Japan.

Meanwhile, a news release from the Marine base in Okinawa reports more than 7,000 family members, and 400 pets of U.S. service members based in Japan, have chosen to leave the country. The DOD has scheduled more than 25 military flights to relocate them out of Japan.

Military

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.