CAMP COURTNEY, OKINAWA, Japan -- A natural and human disaster expert met with Marine Corps planners and executors of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, as well as Japan Self-Defense Force liaison officers, May 1 on Camp Courtney to further their base of knowledge and help prepare for potential HADR operations.
Tetsuo Takashima, an author and natural and human disaster expert, led the meeting, which offered insight into the role of the Marine Corps during HADR operations across the Asia-Pacific region.
“It’s important to get those personnel who are going to be involved in planning a (disaster) response, as well as others who may be doing the actual response, together with experts (on disasters),” said Robert D. Eldridge, the deputy assistant chief of staff for G-7, government and external affairs, Marine Corps Installations Pacific. “In this case, the plan is to meet and focus on large-scale natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis.”
The lecture presented key points and perspectives on Okinawa’s unpredictable weather, according to Takashima.
“Japan is very vulnerable to natural disasters,” said Takashima. “It’s certain something will happen at some point. That something may be much bigger than any previous understanding of the mechanisms of the disasters and what the disasters trigger.”
For instance, when people think of earthquakes, they may only think about the ground shaking and buildings crumbling, according to Eldridge, a Wall Township, N.J., native. However, earthquakes can also trigger fires, and possibly tsunamis if they are offshore.
“We need to not only think about the disaster response, but also the larger social, economic, and political cost that a disaster can cause,” said Eldridge.
Takashima has a passion for disaster response and makes it his personal mission to ensure those responders in a position to provide aid are properly informed.
“I feel like it’s my mission to share the information about disasters and being prepared with people,” said Takashima. “It’s about proactively dealing with situations that will arise in the future on a global scale.”
Before the close of the lecture, the attendees watched a video produced by residents of Japan, which showed their appreciation for Operation Tomodachi, the U.S. military’s HADR response to the March 11, 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
“I wanted them to see it, because when I first saw the video, I was deeply moved by it,” said Takashima. “For the American audience, the narration and subtitles were particularly helpful in explaining what happened and how people feel about the American response to a disaster.”
After the meeting, attendees felt they had a broader perspective on disasters and how to better prepare for them.
“The information given is valuable not only for our future exercises but also real-world operations,” said Lt. Col. Donald J. Presto, the Japan exercise and engagement officer with G-3, operations, III MEF. “It has given us valuable insight about how we can better prepare for working with not only the JSDF, but also the prefectural governments, which we do often.”