Session 8 Department of Defense's Response to Fukushima Major Jamie Stowe, US Air Force (Email: jamie.stowe@jtfcs.northcom.

mil; Ph: 757-501-7833) Major Alan Hale (US Air Force) Abstract: Operation TOMODACHI: Department of Defense's Response to Fukushima As a member of Joint Task Force Civil Support, DoDs only Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) trained and dedicated command response organization, I deployed to assist with the Fukushima (DoDs Operation TOMODACHI) radiation response. At US Pacific Commands request, JTF-CS deployed a small advisory team to US Forces Japans (USFJ) 4-star command headquarters at Yokota Air Base, Japan. Serving as the teams medical planner, I deployed along with 7 others, a specialty area mix of Army, Air Force, Marines, and civilian personnel. Our team served as the core of DoDs analysis and planning cell for all things radiation (information, guidance, advice). We monitored and reported on all US and Japanese radiation readings in the AOR. Our team also answered questions from the field and HQ commanders and both Japanese and US officials. We provided USFJ and Japanese Self Defense Force leaders with threat assessments along with protection and planning recommendations. Our team was a fusion center to provide leadership with information in laymans terms to assist with decision making. Additionally, we dealt with: radioactive water leaking into the ocean; false alarms on radiation levels; drinking water and food safety; personal protective gear; exposure limits and tracking mechanisms; mitigation issues such as minimizing the spread of contamination; level of decon required (how clean is clean?) for personnel, vehicles, helicopters, and even ships; who needs potassium iodide and when and in what dosage amounts and duration should it be taken. We also played a small role in the development of the DoE infield sensor employment plan. Walking the political tightropes: we provided a lot of unofficial and even some unrequested assistance to the Japanese to ensure their success; we avoided the appearance of undercutting our Japanese allies when US federal and DoD protection guidance was more stringent than theirs. Each DoD branch of service, Japan, and the US had different decon and exposure standards; US side attempted to align with the host nation. Politics, not science or pre-established standards, drove many decisions. Some of my medical planner activities: Provided initial USFJ dosimeter training and risk assessments for field operators. Advised on force health protection measures (Potassium Iodide, sheltering, dosimeters, exposure limits). Provided operational health risk assessments and protection support for 1,044 personnel working in and around the warm zone and 93,186 total US troops and citizens in the AOR. Assisted with planning air and water testing locations and priorities, equipping personnel with radiation detection devices, and tracking exposure rates. Served on many working groups including those that: created a joint US-Japan radiation detection and protection plan; set exposure limits criteria for isotopes in the air, food, water, and soil; established health hazard triggers to activate a worst-case scenario evacuation plan for up to 51,877 civilians. Created and pushed out radiation education and risk comparison tools along with crafting public affairs releases to ease some US troop anxieties and disarm the fears that many civilians expressed. Opportunities were lost to properly shape exposure fears; DoDs sampling team arrived late, meaning costly backups and delays on sampling analysis. Risk communication and education is imperative. Its important to get factual guidance about health hazards (or the lack thereof) out quickly to personnel and their family members, average citizens, and the media. If you dont, misinformation and fear will fill the vacuum and they can significantly degrade your operation capabilities. Most fears about radiation, were not based in science, but nevertheless affected operations. Preparation, collaboration, and dedication made us successful. I was so impressed with what our team was able to do by working with the Department of Energy, Air Force Radiation Assessment Team, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and others. We came up with innovative ways to meet the challenges and pooled our thoughts, resources, and efforts together. I also received tremendous round-the-clock reach-back support from DoD and DoE nuclear experts, and others such as the EPA. Everyones dedication, willingness to help, and concern for others was inspiring. Hopefully this will be a watershed event for our nation. DoD personnel there gained invaluable hands-on experience and developed proven tools and methods that can be added to theory and scientific data collected. A lot of what we learned from Fukushima will be applicable to the next accident or an attack. It was an unbelievably rewarding, educational, and game-changing experience. Authors Biography: Major Jamie Stowe is a Medical Plans and Operations Officer at Joint Task Force Civil Support, a specialized chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) unit under US Northern Command. Major Stowe has served in the US Air Force and the US Army for 17 years. He has completed a fellowship in Medical Readiness and Expeditionary Operations with the Air Combat Commands Surgeons Office and has functional expertise in natural disaster and CBRN scenario planning, patient evacuation, medical logistics,

and healthcare administration. Major Stowe holds a Masters degree in Business Administration and is completing a Masters degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. Major Alan C. Hale is the Chief, Radiation Heath Consulting, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, 711th Human Performance Wing, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. After Major Hale graduated from Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois in 2001 with his Bachelor's of Science in Physics, he received a direct commission into the Air Force's Biomedical Sciences Corps. His assignments have included Kirtland AFB, New Mexico; MacDill AFB, Florida; Air Force Institute of Technology, Civilian Institution, Boston, Massachusetts; Brooks City-Base, Texas; and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. In 2005 he deployed for four months to Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras where he supported Southern Commands only forward operating location as the Chief of Preventative Medicine. In 2011, he deployed for two months to Yokota Air Base, Japan and served as the Senior Health Physicist on the Air Force Radiation Assessment Team to Joint Support Force-Japan. Major Hale holds a Master's of Science in Radiological Science and Protection from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and is a Certified Health Physicist from the American Academy of Health Physics.