Photo By Carolyn Herrick | U.S. Navy Capt. Jeff James, commander, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, accepts...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, was recognized as the first Department of Defense Joint Base installation to be designated StormReady/TsunamiReady” by the National Weather Service, Oct. 28.
DoD-wide there are 25 military installations that have been designated “Storm Ready” and two others that are designated “Tsunami Ready.” Overall, JBPHH is the first installation in the Pacific and in Hawaii, to be designated both “Storm Ready” and “Tsunami Ready,” according to the NWS.
“The Storm Ready/Tsunami Program was started in the continental United States, as a way to recognize those communities that are born out of disasters,” said Ray Tanabe the Hawaii Director of NWS. “This (designation) represents the dedication of the base commanders here – they are really keeping everyone safe on the joint base.”
“This was a culmination of a lot of hard work,” said Dan DuBois, the JBPHH Emergency Management Officer. “The Japanese tsunami really opened our eyes because we’d been doing public outreach but it obviously wasn’t as effective as it could have been because people were lined up at the gas station and stripping shelves at the shopettes.”
Kicking off with a series of town hall meetings, they began educating people as much as possible to be prepared for hurricanes and tsunamis, he said. Based on a set of guidelines from the NWS, they worked hard to make this installation ready for any situation.
“This shows the great support and care you have for everyone on base,” Tanabe said.
Hawaii is also the first state in the union to be StormReady/TsunamiReady. Officials from the city and county of Honolulu congratulated the joint base commander and members of the Emergency Operations Center here, repeatedly emphasizing the significance of this designation.
“The joint base is one of our valued partners,” said Peter Hirai, Deputy Director Of Emergency Management for the City and County of Honolulu.
Capt. Jeff James, the Joint Base Commander, agreed that partnering with the City and County of Honolulu was key to the success they’ve had in this arena.
“It says a lot about the partnering we’ve done with the public and with state and city officials, that we as a military organization can … advance the cause here for preparedness,” he said. “We have a solid communications vehicle in place, we’ve communicated to all our folks, there’s a solid training plan in place, and we have an awareness campaign across base.”
Although neither of the two tsunamis that have occurred in the Pacific in the last two years has caused any damage to JBPHH, areas on Oahu and on the Big Island of Hawaii suffered damage so “it’s just a matter of time until something will reach out and touch us here in Hawaii,” said the Joint Base commander.
“Although this is a pinnacle for us, we don’t intend to rest on our laurels,” he said. “Our intention is to continue to maintain and improve our readiness. There are always things that we can do better, and we intend to maintain the certification in the future as well.”
| Date Taken: | 10.28.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 11.01.2011 17:32 |
| Story ID: | 79396 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE PEARL HAIR RESERVE BASEOR-HICKAM, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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