PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – Dr. Pamela Milligan, director of the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DMHA), and Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California discussed the Center’s role in disaster preparedness and civil-military disaster response collaborations while touring Pearl Harbor and Ford Island aboard the U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander’s Barge, April 16, 2014.
Dr. Milligan provided the senator with an overview of the Center and explained how civil-military collaborations in DMHA are achieved with academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations, U.S. allies and partner nations through memorandums of understanding and relationship building.
Sen. Boxer was extremely complimentary of …(the) level of engagement in disaster management and voiced support for the theater engagements conducted to improve disaster preparedness and resiliency. The senator stated, “engagements build trust and improve relationships.”
The tour, which included a visit to the USS Arizona Memorial, was the senator’s first to Pearl Harbor and also included U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Harry Harris, Senior Policy Advisor Jason Albritton and the senator’s husband, Stewart Boxer.
A long-time supporter of the Center, in 1994, Boxer voted for legislation that established CFE-DMHA during her second year in the U.S. Senate. She was in Hawaii to attend a clean energy and sustainability conference and later delivered a keynote during a lecture given by former Vice President Al Gore.