How to defeat Godzilla if it attacked the Puget Sound

Godzilla is getting yet another reboot this weekend. The movie that pitted giant dinosaur-type lizards against cities got us thinking: what if Godzilla was real and what if it was headed to the Puget Sound? It turns out a retired Army sergeant has thought this through.

Sgt. Rick Tillman was in the U.S. Army for 12 years and specialized in communications dealing with life support. He said he had access to different types of strategic plans, some of them classified, as he considered what to do in the event of a Godzilla attack.

So could the United States military take out Godzilla without creating too much collateral damage?

A warning

For starters, if Godzilla was headed for the Puget Sound, Tillman said we’d have some warning. “More than likely, he would create some tidal waves and it would set off a tsunami warning.” How much warning, we don’t know. But hopefully enough to get out of town.

Getting out of town

Evacuation of Seattle is of the most concern to Tillman. Infrastructure will be vital if everyone needs to head east over the Cascades. Our best chance of getting everyone out of the city might be by bus.

“I know a lot of folks voted no on the transportation bill, but I wanted to know how we would have everyone get out of the city at one time,” Tillman said. “You have to have an excellent escape route and without a robust transportation system, how do you get out of town?”

The attack

Tillman said you have to understand your enemy to make your attack plan.

In its latest incarnation, Godzilla is taller than it’s ever been before. Imagine a Godzilla that is about two-thirds the size of the Space Needle, or about 150 meters, according to calculations from KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross. Not to mention it is empowered by nuclear radiation.

Tillman says we’d have to look at its vulnerabilities, most likely through the use of drones.

“Do we have any weak spots and how do we find them,” questioned Tillman.

So which weapons would we use in the case of an attack?

“First of all, we have to look at what can neutralize (the monster,) like what we use currently when we have some nuclear waste,” said Tillman. “Do we have missiles capable of firing on it? Probably not on stand-by at present, but that would be something we would have to look at.”

At 150 meters, Godzilla would take significant firepower to neutralize. So what size missile would be required?

“I don’t even think it’s the size. If it’s something where we can infiltrate its skin or penetrate his skin and give him some type of virus, for example,” said Tillman.

He concludes that some form of biological warfare may be the best tactic to defeat Godzilla. However, once you take Godzilla out, there will be one last concern. If it falls over, Godzilla may contaminate the city with even more nuclear waste.

Hopefully, by then, everyone is already out of town.

Related:

Is it worth seeing? David Boze reviews the new Godzilla movie