Military Bases Breached: Are Pokémon Go Players Going too Far?

July 19, 2016

Pokémon Go, a mobile phone app, has taken the world by storm but are players taking it too far?

The role-playing game uses your phone’s GPS and uses your location and augmented reality to impose Pokémon characters on your screen and overlay them on top of what you see directly in front of you. “The game is centered on the concept of the Pokémon battle, similar to that of the video games,” according to Wikia. “The object of the game is to knock out six of the opponent’s Pokémon.”

The game has taken players from inside their homes and into the streets in huge numbers, all in the name of fun. But some people aren’t laughing or having fun at all with this new game phenomenon. In fact, the phenomenon is creating public safety fears including pedestrians being severely distracted and trespassing that can lead to arrests or worse.

For many gamers there seem to be no personal boundaries as to how far they will go, or onto who’s property they will tread to acquire their next fictional Pokémon character. While playing Pokémon Go a Frenchmen trespassed onto an Indonesian military base and was detained.

The 27 year old, Romain Pierre, was arrested and later let go, when authorities realized he had unintentionally trespassed unto the military base while hunting down Pokémon.

Although many believe the game could boost tourism to the city, according to The Guardian, security officials are very concerned that Pokémon could induce real security threats.

The United States is having their own issues with Pokémon Go. Safety warnings from the U.S. Military Joint Base Lewis-McChord, near Tacoma, Washington, have been released after the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum saw its fair share of Pokémon Go trespassers.

“DO NOT chase Pokémon into controlled or restricted areas, office buildings, or homes on base.”

As of now, no plans by the Department of Defense have been made to impose game guidelines around the Pentagon but they are asking players to be mindful when crossing roads and parking lots saying, “It’s a good idea to look up, away from your phone and both ways before crossing streets.”

 

Wow, did the Defense Department have to remind adults to be mindful of their surroundings? A new game has suddenly seemed to make the world lose their senses.

At some point the Defense Department may step in to protect its boundaries, and others, from the carelessness actions of Pokémon players if public and military concerns continue.

It will then be Pokémon Gone, game over, in many public areas.

By Lorra B.

101st Returns Home From Liberia and Ebola Mission

March 3, 2015

Fox News:

A small number of U.S. troops will remain in Liberia to build on major gains in combating the Ebola virus following the return of more than 1,000 troops from the 101st Airborne Division, the Pentagon said Friday.

The 101st ended its mission in Liberia, where Ebola cases and transmission rates have fallen dramatically since the first U.S. servicemembers deployed to the country to fight the disease in September. Members of the 101st were expected to return to the U.S. in April.

The returning troops will have to undergo a 21-day “controlled monitoring,” or quarantine, period before they will be allowed contact with their families and others, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary.

Kirby said about 100 people, consisting of American troops, civilians and contractors, will remain in Liberia after April to provide engineering, medical training and facilities support in the continuing effort to contain the virus. In January, the Pentagon put the cost of the U.S. military’s work in Liberia at nearly $400 million.

Earlier, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was welcomed by an honor cordon at the Pentagon and met with Defense Secretary Aston Carter to thank the military for its efforts in her country.

History’s worst Ebola epidemic began in West Africa early last year, hitting hardest in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

At one point, the Centers for Disease Control projected that the region could have 1.6 million Ebola cases by mid-January, but the efforts of local governments backed by the U.S. military, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Health Organization and a range of non-governmental organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, combined to contain the virus.

Through Feb. 25, the CDC reported a total of 23,825 cases of Ebola in West Africa and 14,263 deaths.

In Sierra Leone, the CDC reported steep declines in case incidents while also warning that transmission remains widespread. Guinea also had declines in case incidents, the CDC said, and in Liberia “transmission continues at very low levels, with only one new case reported in the week up to February 22.”

Sirleaf met with President Obama at the White House, and both pledged continued work to bring reports of new Ebola cases down to zero.

“Our job is not yet done, and neighboring countries like Guinea and Sierra Leone are still somewhat behind the progress that’s been made in Liberia,” Obama said

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