Gov't agencies relocating outside D.C.'s Fallout Zone?

I don't post very much here; I wait until I see something that I think might drive an interesting discussion.

Today I ran across an article in the Washington Post that tells how some federal agencies (FBI, HSA among them) are relocating some of their assets outside a 50-mile ring around D.C.

www.washingtonpost.com...

Considering the cost & trouble involved in such a move, I don't think it would be undertaken very lightly. What do you all think about this?

It's actually not that rare. Many companies, including the Canadian government, which I work for, have "hot sites" outside of major cities in case of something happenning. I know our data backups are stored offsite at secure sites incase our entire computer center gets blown up, burned down, or whatever.

Disaster planning is a big thing these days.

Yes, I agree.

I was talking with my sisters who are in the Hospital circle. They are prepared for a pandemic. It is not a question of if, it is a question of when.

I believe most public service agencies have discussed what they will do in the event of any of the threats to our society, including health and agression.

I would have thought that the Federal Agencies would have done this during the Cold War, they must believe that the United States is closer than ever to a nuclear smackdown.

I certainly hope that any nation planning such an action would consider that once the Government is aware of a missle launch, all key government personel would be immediately moved out of the area, way out of the area.

Originally posted by 2stepsfromtop
I would have thought that the Federal Agencies would have done this during the Cold War, they must believe that the United States is closer than ever to a nuclear smackdown.

No, I think the Soviets had enough nukes to spread them around to anyplace the Feds went, so it really wouldn't matter. Terrorists wouldn't have that luxury, so spreading out makes sense.

Originally posted by djohnsto77

Originally posted by 2stepsfromtop
I would have thought that the Federal Agencies would have done this during the Cold War, they must believe that the United States is closer than ever to a nuclear smackdown.

No, I think the Soviets had enough nukes to spread them around to anyplace the Feds went, so it really wouldn't matter. Terrorists wouldn't have that luxury, so spreading out makes sense.

Actually, many of the government fallout shelters of the cold war era have been decommissioned. Lack of funds for upkeep is only one of the reasons though. The locations of older government fallout shelters are widely known. The newer shelters are more sophisticated and better capable of sustaining a person through a nuclear attack