# Simulated disasters rock western United States

/ Published June 14, 2016
FORT BELVOIR, Virginia, 
A simulated catastrophic earthquake and tsunami marked the beginning of Defense Logistics Agency Energy support to Exercise Ardent Sentry 16, a major U.S. Northern Command annual exercise focused on defense support of civil authorities.

The two-part exercise runs from June 9 to June 16 and features a whole of nation effort on an initial earthquake and tsunami response with DLA, Department of Defense and regional partners and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The tabletop scenario features a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in the Cascadia Subduction Zone affecting the entire West Coast from British Columbia to northern California. The quake will be closely followed by tsunamis 30 feet high or bigger slamming into oceanfront communities.

“The purpose of Exercise Ardent Sentry 16 is to practice providing support to civil authorities during natural disasters and civil emergencies,” said DLA Energy NORTHCOM Plans and Operation Planner Rick VanSchoor. “An estimated 6,000 emergency and military personnel are participating in the disaster exercise including FEMA, Department of Homeland Security, NORTHCOM and other federal and state agencies.”  

In event of natural disasters and civil emergencies, DoD support to civil authorities is permitted through Title 10 and Title 32.

A DLA warning order was issued June 8. DLA is a supporting agency for the disaster relief efforts in the USNORTHCOM area of responsibility focused on two core lines of effort: sustainment and distribution.

“It’s hectic; it’s overwhelming,” VanSchoor said. “This is the first time NORTHCOM has participated in an exercise of this magnitude before.  Bottom line, it will take DLA and our partner agencies  to respond to an event like this.”

FEMA’s damage and casualty estimates are for more than 10,000 fatalities, mostly due to the tsunami with 70 percent of electrical power systems damaged and natural gas and refined fuel pipelines out of service.

The DLA Energy Operations Center coordinates fuel support among the entire DoD joint fuel community to include DLA Energy regional offices, DLA Energy liaison officers and FEMA. The exercise is one of several exercises DLA Energy participates in to rehearse and prepare in event of a natural emergency or disaster.

A formal interagency agreement for logistics support was signed between DLA and FEMA in 2006 to provide fuel support and services during presidentially declared natural emergencies and disasters. As the executive agent for Class III products which include petroleum, oil and lubricants, DLA Energy provides support to FEMA through its multi-purpose fuel contingency contractor. In events of natural and manmade disasters, FEMA would issue a requirement to DLA Energy to provide motor gasoline and diesel to first responders within 72 hours.

“The scenario is very realistic,” VanSchoor said. “Scientific evidence indicates that a magnitude 8.0 to 9.0 earthquake occurs along the 800 mile Cascadia Subduction Zone fault on average once every 200 to 500 years. The last major earthquake and tsunami along the fault occurred more than 300 years ago in 1700.”

A natural disaster of this magnitude would hold serious consequences for DLA Energy capitalized sites. Defense fuel support points and refineries would be severely damaged and destroyed, VanSchoor explained. 

“We would expect Oregon and Washington to suffer complete failure of bulk fuel storage in the impacted area as well as San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego areas,” VanSchoor said. “The supply chain will have to shift from East to West.”

In the Ardent Sentry 16 scenario, ocean going tankers and barges would be employed to push fuel via sea to supported harbor areas while rail tank cars, trucks and pipelines would be used to push bulk petroleum to supported sites.

This exercise is important for the rehearsal of interagency roles,” said PACOM Planner Randy Little. "The lessons learned help us to be better prepared.”