Lessons from Department of Defense Disaster Relief Efforts in the Asia-Pacific Region

Communication and Coordination with Non-DOD Assistance Providers Can Be Improved Through Exercises and Better Standard Operating Procedures

• Exercises that help improve interagency coordination have proven useful and should be further developed.
• The key to establishing better coordination between the U.S. military and IOs/NGOs is better-targeted exercises that focus more on the operational level.
• A lack of standard operating procedures between the United States and affected countries has created delays in HA/DR responses.
• Creating or improving standard operating procedures with potential HA/DR recipients requires a solid institutional and cultural knowledge of these countries.
• The authority and processes governing the use of annual Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster Assistance, and Civic Aid (OHDACA) funds lack clarity, especially in foreign consequence management (FCM)/chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) cases.

Experienced Personnel is a Key Asset for HA/DR

• It is beneficial to deploy individuals who have previous HA/DR experience on HA/DR missions because they are familiar with the relevant actors, institutions, processes, and funding sources.
• Personal connections among individuals involved in disaster response considerably facilitate coordination.

Building the HA/DR Capacity of Partner Countries Remains a Good Way of Increasing their Resilience

• Security cooperation is a primary vehicle used to prepare affected countries to respond better to their own disasters, as well as those of their neighbors.
• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s HA/DR capability slowly improves but is likely to be mostly of use during mega-disasters while other emergencies will still be dealt with at the national and bilateral levels.