In an effort to allay some of the concerns of Team USA , Uncle Sam will be looking out for them when they travel to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Amidst terrorist attacks in Volgograd and further threats against the events in Sochi by militant groups, the Pentagon has pledged to aid Russian security agencies in their efforts to protect the athletes and spectators of the 22nd Winter Games, according to Business Week. It may not be empty talk, either – during a meeting between Army Gen. Martin Dempsey and Russian General Valery Gerasimov in Brussels, the U.S. is reported to have lent Russian authorities equipment designed to detect homemade explosive devices.
The threat is real enough for most athletes and their families to consider the risks of traveling to Sochi, a resort town only a few hundred miles from the long-unstable North Caucasus area of the country.
Fred Evans' daughter Aja will be competing as part of Team USA's bobsled contingent and though he had the opportunity to watch his daughter chase the gold in person, he passed.
"What I like is the fact that there's coverage of this," Evans told the Washington Post from his Chicago home. "What I like is the advice people are getting. What I don't like is that it could be a reality."