e. TOPIC. Information Sharing on Operation Tomodachi ( 860 )
Observation.
Joint forces involved in Operation Tomodachi experienced significant
challenges with respect to information management, classified/sensitive
information sharing with bilateral partners, and unclassified information sharing
with all participating organizations.
Discussion.
In March 2011, U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) formed a Joint Support
Force (JSF) centered around U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) to provide disaster relief
support to the Japanese in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and
tsunami. Military and civilian augmentees from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and
Marine Corps along with personnel from USAID, the Department of Energy, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and various other U.S. Government and nongovernmental organizations converged on Yokota AFB to support operations. In
a span of two weeks, the number of personnel working at HQ, USFJ grew from
180 to nearly 800. In that short timeframe, USFJ's communications infrastructure
was rapidly adjusted and expanded. Over 300 SIPRNET and classified
Combined Enterprise Regional Information System-Japan (CENTRIXS-JPN)
clients were transferred over to the (unclassified) NIPRNET domain. Another
500+ workstations were also added to the NIPRNET domain.
One of the greatest challenges for personnel involved in Operation Tomodachi
was the ability to rapidly share critical information. Since members of other U.S.
Government organizations (i.e., USAID, Department of Energy, etc.) and nongovernmental organizations did not possess Common Access Cards (CAC), a
non-CAC enabled method of sharing information was required. To meet this
requirement, USPACOM established the "Japan Earthquake 2011" site on the All
Partners Access Network (APAN). APAN (www.apan.org) is an unclassified
network in the public domain which USPACOM had used in previous Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR) operations. USPACOM also created
a special community of users within APAN (accessible only by invitation) – the
Virtual Civil Military Operations Center (VCMOC) – to develop the Common
Operating Picture (COP) and to share information in support of joint HA/DR
operations.
Although APAN helped to meet the requirement for unclassified information
sharing, APAN was not the only unclassified network used during Operation
Tomodachi. HARMONIEWeb, which is similar to APAN, was also utilized and
Table of Contents | Quick Look | Contact PKSOI
Page 19 of 54