Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 26, 2023
On April 26, 1986, one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents occurred at the Chernobyl plant in the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire in the No. 4 reactor sent radioactivity into the atmosphere. At least 31 Soviets died immediately. I had the misfortune of being downwind of the accident, at the time. I was posted TDY in southern West Germany, with the 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion, in Stuttgart. Someday, the details of the COMINT traffic for that time period may be declassified. But all that I can say now is that late April and early May of 1986 represented …