Military, Guam Leadership Gather to Prepare for Typhoon Season

By Anna-Victoria Crisostomo

ASAN, Guam (NNS) -- Leaders from military and the Government of Guam gathered at the JRM headquarters in Asan for the Exercise Typhoon Pakyo (PUHK-dzoo) Senior Leadership Seminar May 31.

The inaugural seminar was held in order to provide leadership a forum to review and discuss topics pertinent to typhoon preparation and recovery in recognition of the upcoming typhoon season on Guam. The island's typhoon season runs from June to December.

JRM Commander Rear Adm. Paul Bushong welcomed attendees. He stressed the importance of readiness and collaboration.

"It's been a long time since the island got hit by a typhoon, but be prepared for it," Bushong said. "We look forward to this seminar. We can talk about how we'd work together to make sure we're ready to respond to a storm."

Joint Region Marianas Training and Readiness Officer Timothy Moon echoed Bushong's sentiments. He added that the seminar was especially important because many of the leaders in the room have never experienced a typhoon either personally or in their current leadership roles.

"We look at the leadership at the table – the majority of us are new to typhoon season in our current position," Moon said. "This is an opportunity to align, standardize and synchronize topics important to everyone would be beneficial as we get into the typhoon season."

Topics discussed were divided into two categories – typhoon preparation and recovery. Throughout the seminar, leadership tackled issues including discrepancies with the current typhoon condition of readiness (TCCOR) warnings, heavy weather brief expectations, personnel accountability, immediate response authority (IRA), initial damage assessment, collaboration, communication, and mass care.

The seminar was also the initial meeting in preparation for Exercise Pakyo, or Exercise Typhoon, scheduled for June 10-17. The weeklong exercise will allow Guam's base installations and several government organizations to have real-time experience with preparing for an incoming typhoon and launching recovery efforts after the disaster.

Guam Gov. Eddie Baza Calvo said he was glad at the chance to meet with the military leadership. He added that the dialogue fostered an understanding of the different needs of the on- and off-base communities during a typhoon.

"I think this is good that we lay [these issues] out here now, because as we move forward in this exercise, we at least have a little advanced knowledge of how everybody's thinking here," Calvo said. "Then, when things do happen at the end of all this, we do some evaluation on what areas that we can correct certain deficiencies."

Moon said that was exactly what the seminar was set up to do.

"A typhoon is one example of our 'one Guam' approach to exercises," he said. "A typhoon doesn't affect just one entity. It doesn't affect just the Navy. It doesn't affect just the Air Force. It doesn't affect solely the Government of Guam. It affects all of us."