The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
U.S. showed it ‘will put itself at risk’ for Japan
The following are excerpts from interviews with retired Adm. Patrick Walsh, former commander of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet who was in overall command of the Operation Tomodachi U.S. military relief effort immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and retired Vice Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, former commander of the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet who led Navy activities in the operation. Yomiuri Shimbun Washington Correspondent Kazuhiko Makita conducted the interviews.
TRUE FRIENDS
The Yomiuri Shimbun: What was your reaction when you learned of the earthquake and tsunami?
Patrick Walsh: I was in Pearl Harbor [in Hawaii, where the Pacific Fleet Headquarters is located]. The initial reaction was to look at seismograph readings. And we thought there was an error in the technology, because anything over an 8.3-magnitude earthquake is a thousand-year event in Japan. This was a 9.1. We thought, surely there was a problem with the equipment.
Q: How did you become the commander of Operation Tomodachi?
A: I was attending the video teleconferences with the White House, because we were watching the events unfold as Fukushima [No. 1 nuclear power plant] lost primary, secondary and tertiary power ... We mobilized the Joint Task Force to respond to the earthquake. And that’s when we brought our headquarters element from Hawaii to Japan.
Q: The Joint Task Force was located in Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, and you also flew there?
A: Yes.
Q: Was it difficult to deal with the nuclear accident?
A: One of the problems that we had, as soon as we arrived, was the sensation and the feeling that we’re behind, that the radiation is already in the atmosphere, it’s already on the ground, it’s already in the water, it’s getting into the food supply. [U.S. troops’] families were very concerned ... There were scenarios that we plan for, that could involve a mandatory evacuation.
Q: Nevertheless, Operation Tomodachi continued.
A: There were risks, yes. There was also equipment and technical support that could help us mitigate the risk, but we could never eliminate it entirely. So the idea that we would take risks for our friends in Japan is a very important message ... and I think it was something that proved to the Japanese people that America could be a true ally and friend and put itself at risk on their behalf.
IMMORTAL NAME
The Yomiuri Shimbun: What was the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet’s response?
Scott Van Buskirk: My wife and I were in Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo, on the Malaysian side there [after completing exercises]. [Upon learning about the earthquake] we made the order to get all the ships underway. I made preparations to go meet the USS Blue Ridge, the flagship in Singapore. The Blue Ridge started loading humanitarian assistance, disaster relief supplies onboard the ship.
We got that ship underway at 8:30 the next morning and started heading for Japan.
Q: How smoothly did you work with the Japanese side?
A: I was in communication with my counterpart [in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, who I think] was the fleet commander for all the Japanese fleet, so I let him know I was standing by to support him. With myself and the fleet commander, we could easily pick up the phone, we had a personal relationship, we knew each other very well, our wives knew each other very well.
We had earlier that year made the decision to put liaison officers on each one of our staff. So we had an embedded Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force officer embedded in my staff, and I had one in his staff, in the operation centers, which would prove to be very, very helpful as we went on.
Q: What were the difficulties in conducting the Navy operation?
A: The biggest one was Fukushima. The next day, we started getting the reactor issue, and that there may be some issues that could be out of control. And you know, we didn’t know yet what was the situation. [When] we discovered the severity of Fukushima, I had to make the decision to get the entire naval airwing out of Atsugi [base in Kanagawa Prefecture]. So we sent them to Guam. We sent everything to Guam.
Q: What did Operation Tomodachi show us?
A: I think the key thing is the power of alliance, the power of working together, the power of partnerships, the power of personal relationships, make a difference when one country is in time of need. And I think that’s really key.
Tomodachi. You know, that name of that operation will live forever. The power of a name of an operation was just incredible.
Our relationship was very strong, and it’s going to get stronger. (Feb. 26)