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Cooperative Disaster Prevention and Response
Expanding the Universe of Assistance
By Peter Novick

Many states, especially those undergoing difficult transitions, lack the public and private institutions and infrastructure necessary to meet the challenges posed by complex humanitarian emergencies. What might be a manageable disaster in one country can quickly overwhelm another without resources, organization and political stability needed to take timely action. Clearly the bulk of future global disaster relief efforts will continue to support developing and transitional states. That said, Disaster Prevention/Disaster Response (DP/DR) cooperative initiatives between economically and politically stable countries, while far from the newspaper headlines, are an ongoing process. Recent developments in cooperative DP/DR engagement between the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Japan (CNFJ) and various Government of Japan civil and military authorities are a case in point. This article discusses some of those civil-military and military-military efforts to improve DP/DR cooperation while offering some thoughts on future directions.

Japan has its share of natural and man-made disasters. The Japanese archipelago experiences hundreds of seismic events annually; tropical cyclones (typhoons) are so frequent they are numbered and not named; and heavy rains accompanying typhoons often result in devastating mudslides that annually claim many lives. When viewed on a piecemeal basis, Japan seems well prepared to cope with natural disasters. Organizations with emergency response duties (fire, medical, police, environmental, etc.) are professional and well equipped. Nonetheless, on January 17, 1995, with the whole world watching, Japan stumbled badly. The Government of Japan's response to the Hanshin Earthquake made it abundantly clear that authorities lacked a blueprint for inter-agency DP/DR coordination and a well understood mechanism for incorporating Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF) into ongoing disaster response operations. In contrast, citizen response through volunteer action was hugely positive; it did much to alleviate victims' suffering as well as ameliorate the not inconsiderable anger and frustration among the injured and displaced of Kobe as they watched...and waited for government assistance.

Much has changed in five years. Civil government agencies at the national, prefecture and city levels have taken a more vigorous approach to DP/DR coordination with a special emphasis on developing an integrated approach to disaster response. Additionally, the latest National Defense Program Outline (NDPO) expanded the roles and missions of JSDF to include disaster relief operations. Subsequently, the JSDF Joint Staff Office (similar to U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff) was tasked to prepare a DP/DR contingency plan to support prefectures. That plan, now in final draft, strengthens coordination between prefecture governments and JSDF. Prefecture governments play a critical role in disaster preparedness and response, somewhat analogous to the state role in domestic disaster response in the United States. Under Japan's Disaster Response Law, prefecture governors have the authority to request JSDF assistance for disaster response. The next large-scale Japanese DP/DR exercise, scheduled to take place in Tokyo in September, includes significant JSDF participation.

Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Japan is the Navy regional commander for shore installation management for U.S. Navy shore installations in Misawa, Atsugi, Yokosuka, Sasebo and Okinawa. (Note: CNFJ's AOR includes Naval Support Activity Diego Garcia as well.) At three of those locations, Atsugi, Sasebo and Yokosuka, both the U.S. Navy and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) have substantial forces assigned. Until recently, there were no formal bilateral civil-military or military-military DP/DR agreements although a modest foundation could be found in the areas of fire fighting and medical treatment.

Probably the oldest form of civil-military DP/DR cooperation is contained in bilateral mutual fire fighting assistance agreements. Such agreements are common between U.S. military shore installations and surrounding cities and towns. These agreements contain provisions for inter-jurisdiction requests for assistance, coordinating instructions for fires which threaten both civil and military jurisdictions, access to areas under military control, and procedures for on-scene command coordination, information exchange and compensation. U.S. Navy shore installation fire departments enjoy close working relationships with their Japanese counterparts including frequent exchanges, training and drills as well as actual response to requests for assistance.

Also common are informal (unwritten) agreements for peacetime provision of medical care. U.S. Navy Hospital (USNH) Yokosuka and other installation medical treatment facilities have agreements with local Japanese hospitals covering certain medical procedures and emergencies on a fee-for-service basis. These agreements can extend to post disaster emergency care on a space-available basis. Additionally, USNH Yokosuka conducts emergency response training with the local JMSDF hospital located at Yokosuka District headquarters. Japanese civil and military authorities can request mutual aid from USNH Yokosuka. JMSDF hospital Yokosuka makes requests to Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan via Japan Maritime Self Defense Force Maritime Staff Office (MSO). On the civil side, local hospitals request support from the U.S. Navy installation commander via the city government. Likewise, prefecture-level hospitals make requests through U.S. Forces Japan.

In October 1997, CNFJ published a disaster preparedness CONPLAN 5075, a supporting plan to U.S. Forces Japan CONPLAN 5075. The purpose of the plan is to provide effective disaster response operations to DoD personnel and their families and, when directed, host nation support following a disaster. By the time of its publication, unilateral DP/DR efforts by both Japan and U.S. military commands in Japan had reached a critical mass, setting the stage for wider bilateral civil-military and military-military cooperation.

In early 1998, the Kanagawa Prefecture Government (KPG) approached CNFJ and U.S. Army Japan (USARJ) with an initiative to improve DP/DR coordination. The prefecture, situated just south of Tokyo contains several U.S. military installations, (NAF Atsugi, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Camp Zama and others), and is one of the most densely populated areas of Japan. After several months of coordination, KPG published a Manual for Mutual Help Between U.S. Military and Kanagawa Prefectural Government designed to "enable KPG, CNFJ and USARJ to help each other in providing rescue and relief services...[and]... carry out emergency measures and relief work smoothly and effectively." The manual provides faxable templates in English and Japanese for disaster notification, situation reporting, tables of DP/DR material and equipment, evacuation sites and requests for assistance. In the last two years a number of small-scale command post exercises have validated its effectiveness. The chart above, taken from the manual, shows the structure for bilateral DP/DR coordination at various levels of government.

In the summer of 1998, JSDF Joint Staff Office and U.S. Forces Japan selected DP/DR as the theme for the inaugural Bilateral Training Seminar, a continuing series of presentations and discussions on topics supporting the military side of the U.S.-Japan relationship. CNFJ's keynote presentation offered a roadmap for future bilateral military-military cooperation and recommended a three-track approach: draft a bilateral DP/DR plan; engage in near-term initiatives (seminars, site visits and capabilities demonstrations); and integrate DP/DR into the bilateral exercise program. This concept offers a useful means to maintain a joint-bilateral focus, rapidly restore operational capabilities, take advantage of expertise and, when authorized, provide timely assistance.

On the Navy side, 1999 was a year that saw significant progress in bilateral DP/DR coordination. In June, USS Fort McHenry (LSD-43), JDS Ohsumi (LST 4001) and CNFJ participated in a two-day transportation exercise (TRANSPORTEX). JDS Ohsumi, the first ship of a planned three-ship class, has significant humanitarian assistance/disaster response (HA/DR) capabilities and is capable of contingency transport for displaced populations. The Ohsumi carries two LCAC's and is helicopter operations capable. The inport phase featured an HA/DR seminar and capabilities demonstrations while at sea, both ships conducted LCAC familiarization.

In December, CNFJ and JMSDF signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Coordination for Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Relief Operations the first formal bilateral service-to-service DP/DR agreement in Japan. The MOU provides for DP/DR notification, information exchange and coordination at the headquarters level. Additionally the parties agreed to "develop a Coordinating Manual for Disaster Relief Operations to provide basic coordination procedures between subordinate shore commands to be used in the event of a disaster." As mentioned earlier, both the U.S. Navy and JMSDF have significant forces assigned in Atsugi, Sasebo and Yokosuka. Service representatives at these locations are in the process of drafting installation-specific coordination manuals. When completed, the bilateral DP/DR coordination architecture contained in the installation-level agreements will provide both U.S. Navy and JMSDF installation commanders a much-needed means for coordinating disaster response.

Japan's high population density and congested urban environment mean a disaster in either the city or the Navy installation is likely to affect both. So, it is encouraging that progress in civil-military DP/DR coordination at the local level has kept pace with the military- military progress noted above. CNFJ and U.S. Navy installations at Yokosuka and Sasebo are actively engaged in the preliminary stage of discussions with Yokosuka City and Sasebo City officials in an effort to develop DP/DR coordination procedures. For installations, the advantages are manifest: a significant number of U.S. military and their families reside in the local community and the geographical separation of U.S. military facilities makes post-disaster mutual support difficult. Additionally, thousands of Japanese work on Navy shore installations and their post disaster welfare is a matter of concern to both city governments and installation commanders. Like the military-military coordination agreements discussed above, civil-military agreements will stress communications architecture for rapid notification and information exchange as well as procedures for requesting assistance.

The boundaries for foreign disaster relief provided by DoD are spelled out in a number of sources and include aid that can be used to alleviate immediately the suffering of disaster victims and which does not constitute a substantial, permanent contribution to the economy. Aid includes transportation of victims, food, clothing, medicines, beds, temporary shelter, the furnishing of hospital equipment, medical and technical personnel, and making repair to essential services. Additionally, the provision of aid is subject to overriding military mission requirements, not a substitute for civil participation, provided for a limited period, and uses resources not necessary for essential military operations. Usually, permission to provide assistance must come from higher headquarters, though a U.S. military commander present at the scene of a foreign disaster may undertake prompt disaster relief operations when time is of the essence and humanitarian considerations make it advisable to do so. Also of note, the U.S. Navy does not stock material, equipment or provisions specifically for disaster response.

In the United States, the Federal Response Plan (FRP) outlines how the federal government assists state and local governments when a major disaster or emergency overwhelms their ability to respond effectively. The plan assigns federal agency responsibility for twelve Emergency Support Functions (ESF). These cover the universe of disaster response from transportation, public works and engineering, mass care, food energy and seven others. DoD functions as the primary agency for public works and engineering and is a support agency for all other ESF's. In short, DoD is completely integrated into a complex, highly organized and capable system for disaster response. The FRP assumes federal agencies function on the supply side of disaster response operations. Outside areas under U.S. jurisdiction, no such integrated structure exists and it is not safe to assume DoD would always be a net provider of resources, particularly in economically advanced countries possessing robust DP/DR capabilities. As such, it is difficult to overstate the importance of developing closer bilateral DP/DR relationships with relevant host nation agencies.

To date, CNFJ's bilateral DP/DR coordination has necessarily proceeded along two separate tracks: civil-military and military-military. In the future, the results of these parallel efforts could form the basis for more complex inter-agency coordination involving civil agencies at the local, prefecture and national levels, Japan Self Defense Forces, other DoD activities and possibly Department of State participation. A large part of disaster response operations involves meeting the needs of displaced populations (basically, water, food, sanitation, shelter, medical care and transportation to safe areas). The bilateral planning involved to address such contingencies could apply to situations involving displaced populations not the direct result of natural or man-made disasters. Many of the core competencies required for effective disaster response are the same regardless of the source of the people in distress.

MTMC Sends Transportation Experts
to South Seas Islands to Support Disaster
Preparedness Mitigation Assessment Team
By Joseph Bonfiglio

If a hurricane strikes a remote Pacific island, it"s too late to come up with a disaster relief plan when the winds start howling.

With this in mind, the U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) sends teams to locations throughout Asia and the Pacific to help requesting countries improve their disaster readiness plans. The teams, headed by Army Civil affairs experts, are called Disaster Preparedness Mitigation Assessment teams.

When USARPAC recently sent a team to the Cook Islands in the South Seas, they turned to the Military Traffic Management Command"s 599th Trans Group in Hawaii to provide crucial transportation expertise.

This was the first time that MTMC was asked to participate in a USARPAC disaster preparedness assessment.

Rick Pollom, a traffic management specialist with the 599th, and Grey Marsh, a civil engineer with MTMC"s Transportation Engineering Agency, joined ten other team members to assess the remote island chain. The other team members were experts in such diverse fields as public health, communications, mapping, power, fuel handling, heavy equipment and sanitation.

USARPAC Civil Affairs, which runs the program, gathered the team members together in Hawaii for mission briefings July 10 and 11, 2000, then flew the whole team to Rarotonga, the main island of the archipelago.

The Cook Islands are a tropical paradise, due south of Hawaii and 1,000 miles below the equator. The 13 islands are self-governing, though they defer defense matters and external affairs to New Zealand. Most of the islanders are direct descendants of the ancient Polynesians and virtually every-one speaks both Maori and English.

When the team arrived, the members met with their counterparts in the Cook Islands government. Pollom and Marsh met with a rep-resentative from the Ministry of Transportation, plus the harbormaster and port authority of Avatiu Harbor.

In addition to port surveys of the two main islands of Rarotonga and Aitutake, the MTMC team members also provided a complete transportation analysis, including airports and highways.

Working for two weeks, the MTMC team members produced a detailed 22-page report which analyzed the whole transportation infrastructure from an engineering viewpoint.

Marsh"s expertise in civil engineering was especially invaluable to the highway portion of the report, according to Pollom.

"We would gather information everyday and every night we would write it up and plug it into the template provided to us by the team leader. In this way the report was actually done by the time the mission was over," Pollom said.

Once the team completed its survey, all team members briefed their findings to the Cook Island authorities.

The transportation information was a very useful part of the overall team report, according to Lt. Col. John Solon, USARPAC Civil Affairs. "We are planning to have them back on the teams going to all the island nation DPMAs," Solon said.

According to Solon, the report won"t just benefit the Cook Islanders. He noted that the final report and mapping will go to the U.S. Pacific Command for the United States to use if it ever needs to respond to a disaster in that country.

Solon added that the program establishes and reinforces professional contacts and working relationships between: the U.S. military and foreign service, other U.S. governmental organizations, host nation and territorial government leaders, non-governmental organizations, private volunteer organizations and other international organizations.

The DPMA program is run and operated by U.S. Army Civil Affairs joined by the Center of Excellence and the Pacific Disaster Center, both headquartered in Hawaii.

One of the benefits of the mission was the opportunity for team members to establish close working and personal relationships with host nation officials and private citizens.

"The Cook Islanders are very friendly and they are very proud of their culture and heritage. During the evenings, many places offer a show along with the meals so that visitors can see the local dancing and hear the outstanding drumming," Marsh said.

Another benefit, according to Col. John Bordwell, 599th Commander, was that this mission allowed MTMC to excel in a new role and address one of the major imperatives in the MTMC Strategic Plan: to increase MTMC"s relevancy by assuming a broader range of mission.

And the most important benefit was the invaluable knowledge and preparedness which the Cook Islanders and the U.S. government gained through the study.

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