HurEx preps base, island for Cat 4 storm

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Carolyn Viss
  • 15th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  Team Hickam tested its readiness in a Hurricane Exercise on base and with state and federal agencies downtown at the Hawaii Convention Center June 2 through 4.

The HurEx validated an emergency plan which was made by state officials over the last two years, playing out a scenario in which a Category 4 hurricane hit the island of Oahu, affecting joint military forces, local Hawaii residents, and tourists.

A hurricane rated Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale would cause devastating damage equivalent to the severity of Hurricane Charley in 2004. Winds would be between 131-155 miles per hour, causing uprooted trees, complete destruction of mobile homes, and power outage for weeks after landfall.

"This is the first time we've had an exercise go into this depth, said Mike Hall, U.S. Department of Homeland Security National Incident Management Assistance Team leader. "Our goal was to test the strategic and operational plans so that we can see any challenges or issues we may have to face, tweak our processes, and be prepared to perform to our highest capabilities."

The military has a huge footprint on the islands, he said, making it "essential" for Defense Department to support the state and federal functions.

"In this scenario, just as everywhere else on the island of Oahu, each base's people, power and facilities are hit by the storm, so we look at what resources we have available to preserve our own capabilities and continue operating as military forces," said Col. Jay George, Defense Coordinating Officer for the Pacific Command - Hawaii Islands. "Because the state will run out of resources in the event of a Cat 4 hurricane, they will turn to us for help, especially in initial phases."

For instance, he said, the military is capable of assisting with search and rescue, moving debris off airfields and roads, and providing and setting up tents and shelters.
"If anything on this level were to happen here, the military would step in with anything we can do to help," Colonel George said.

Leadership at Hickam AFB took the opportunity to exercise the base's own emergency plan in order to see how the Air Force fits in to the larger DoD, state, and federal agency's plans.

"It went very smoothly, and I feel the exercise was a success," said Capt. James Rosner, 15th Civil Engineer Squadron readiness and emergency management flight commander. "We identified lots of areas of how we can support local community including what heavy equipment we have and our capacity for freshwater storage, as well prepare our own emergency plan for the base in terms of informing the populace about what items to collect, how to prepare their houses, et cetera."

Each unit control center was involved in investigating requests and responding to the "damage" and situation reports as a result of the hurricane, he said. This would help the base recover from that kind of massive emergency or natural disaster. The next step for Hickam AFB is to take the lessons learned and incorporate them in our plans for the future for how we would react to the hurricane, which would place the answers at our fingertips and provide us a faster response time.

"In the event of a real hurricane, we would be able to respond quickly, protect the base population, and support the local communities," Captain Rosner said.