Hawaii wasn’t ready to handle missile threat alert

Hawaii’s nuclear missile scare showed that the state began testing alerts before fully developing a plan to address a potential ballistic missile threat, according to a report released on Tuesday by the state Department of Defense.

The agency that oversees Hawaii’s emergency management released the internal review after an alert was sent to cellphones, televisions and radio stations across the state last month.

The notification, which read ‘BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL,’ triggered widespread panic as more than one million residents and visitors feared they were about to face a ballistic missile strike.

The incident prompted Hawaii Governor David Ige to assign Brigadier General Kenneth Hara, the second in command at the state’s DoD, to conduct a comprehensive internal review of the agency’s operations.

Hara’s report found the state DoD’s response and recovery plans in the event of an actual ballistic missile strike to be ‘minimally developed.’ 

Hawaii’s nuclear missile scare showed that the state began testing alerts before fully developing a plan to address a potential ballistic missile threat, according to a report released on Tuesday by Hawaii Department of Defense Brigadier General Kenneth Hara

‘The response and recovery sections of the plan were minimally developed,’ Hara’s report said. 

‘The plan lacked clear details for sheltering, county coordination and protocols for a decision to send out all clear or false missile alert messages, [such as notices of] interception, missile impact without effect to Hawaii, etc.’

The public didn’t get adequate directions about what to do in the alert, the report said. It also added that a public outreach campaign carried out months earlier wasn’t effective.

The report’s recommendations include suspending all activities related to the Ballistic Missile Preparedness Campaign, with the exception of the monthly ballistic missile alert tone siren testing, until a plan is published and the majority of Hawaii’s public know ‘what to do, where to go, and when to do it.’

It also recommends reviewing the feasibility of reinstituting ‘fallout shelters.’ Hawaii stopped maintaining such shelters after the Cold War ended and funding ran out.

Hawaii Governor David Ige assigned to conduct the comprehensive internal review of the defense agency's operations following an alert that was mistakenly sent on January 13

Hawaii Governor David Ige assigned to conduct the comprehensive internal review of the defense agency’s operations following an alert that was mistakenly sent on January 13

This report was brought on by an incident on January 13, when an agency employee mistakenly sent the alert to cellphones and broadcast stations across the state during a shift-change drill at the agency.

Officials later disclosed that the employee didn’t think he and his colleagues were participating in a drill and instead believed a real attack was imminent. The state has since fired him.

According to state officials, the former worker, who had been employed at the agency for 11 years, had mistakenly believed two prior drills, for tsunami and fire warnings, were actual events. 

His supervisors counseled him at those times, and kept him on staff for a decade in a position that had to be renewed each year.

The ex-worker disputed that, saying he wasn’t aware of any performance problems.

The person who sent out the alert, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his safety after receiving death threats, told reporters that he was devastated about causing panic but was ‘100 percent sure’ at the time that the attack was real.

The notification, which read 'BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL,' triggered widespread panic as more than one million residents and visitors feared they were about to face a ballistic missile strike

The notification, which read ‘BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL,’ triggered widespread panic as more than one million residents and visitors feared they were about to face a ballistic missile strike

Ige (left) meets the press in Honolulu on January 30, following the release earlier in the day of an interim US government report on the cause of a false emergency alert in mid-January that warned of an incoming ballistic missile

Ige (left) meets the press in Honolulu on January 30, following the release earlier in the day of an interim US government report on the cause of a false emergency alert in mid-January that warned of an incoming ballistic missile

Hara’s report said that the failure of some managers to follow proper procedures to deal with unsatisfactory performance contributed to the false alert.

As a result, employee development training was recommended for supervisors and managers, the report said.

The agency’s administrator, Vern Miyagi, resigned on January 30. 

The agency’s executive officer, Toby Clairmont, also resigned shortly after the incident because it was clear action would be taken against agency leaders, he said.

A fourth employee was suspended without pay.

It took the agency 38 minutes to send a follow-up message to broadcast stations and cellphones notifying people the alert was a mistake, in part because the agency had not previously prepared a message it could send out in the event of a false alarm.

Within hours of the alert, the agency changed protocols to start requiring that two people send an alert. It also made it easier to cancel alerts by preparing a pre-programmed false alarm message.

Although spurred by the missile scare, the report provides recommendations about all the hazards the islands face. 

Because Hawaii relies on nearly all of its goods to be imported, the report recommends improving ports and expanding distribution infrastructure, but notes doing so will be expensive and time-consuming.

Hara is Deputy Adjutant, Hawaii National Guard; He assumed his current assignment in January 2015

Hara is Deputy Adjutant, Hawaii National Guard; He assumed his current assignment in January 2015



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