Background With the increase in natural and manmade disasters, preparedness remains a vital area of concern. Despite attempts by government and non-government agencies to stress the importance of preparedness, national levels of preparedness remain unacceptably low. A goal of commands and installations is to ensure that US Navy beneficiaries are well prepared for disasters. This is especially critical in active service members to meet mission readiness requirements in crisis settings. Objective To evaluate active duty personnel, dependents, veterans, and retirees regarding disaster preparedness status. Methods The authors conducted an anonymous 29-question survey for US Navy active duty, dependents, veterans and retirees of the Greater San Diego Region evaluating actual basic disaster readiness as determined by FEMA standards of 3-day minimum supply of emergency stores and equipment. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used to analyze data. Results 1150 surveys were returned and analyzed. 983 were sufficiently complete for logistic regression analysis with 394 responding “Yes” to having a 72-hour disaster kit (40.1%) while 589 had “No” as a response (59.9%). Conclusion The surveyed population is no more prepared than the general public though surveyed beneficiaries overall are at upper range of preparedness. Lower income and levels of education were associated with lack of preparedness, whereas training in disaster preparedness or having been affected by disasters increased the likelihood of being adequately prepared. Unlike results seen in the general public, those with chronic healthcare needs in our surveyed population were more, rather than less likely to be prepared and those with minor children were less likely, rather than more likely to be prepared. Duty status was assessed and only veterans were significantly more likely than most to be prepared.

The authors discuss the ever increasing role of biological renewable resources in energy, nutrition, and pharmaceuticals; specifically those potentially available deep within the oceans. They provide a list of products already gleaned from this vastly untapped marine environment; discuss the innovations in technology required to effectively explore and prospect the deeper reaches of the ocean; expose the impressive contribution to the economy; and expound the paramount importance of protecting the oceans to ensure the future. Already many new proteins, enzymes, and pharmaceuticals are being developed from the fauna and flora of the forests and relatively shallow economic zones of the ocean. With much of the ocean still an unexplored frontier, the authors hope to promote increased interest in research and development in this arena.