BRISBANE, Australia - 31 Aug 16 – Exercise Pacific Endeavor 2016 (PE16) is in full swing after it began Aug 22, and experts from the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) Joint Spectrum Center are collaborating with military communicators from 22 different nations in order to focus on improving Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HA/DR) in the Indo-Asia Pacific region.

Senior Master Sgt. Mathew Cook and Master Sgt. Rachel Taylor, from the DISA Joint Spectrum Center in Annapolis Maryland were requested by U.S. Pacific Command to attend the multilateral workshop to provide information-sharing modules and training briefings for all of the participants. Their specialty: the electromagnetic spectrum- and during a crisis or disaster, the spectrum is vital.

“Radio signals don’t stop at borders…Spectrum is the key to everything, no matter whether it’s your home Wi-Fi or your CB radio or it’s a natural disaster- management of the electromagnetic spectrum is the key to everything,” said SMSgt Cook.

With today’s technology and the accessibility of the internet, some would say the electronic spectrum is in the running to be added to the list as one of the important “necessities of life.”

“Previously, we’ve always understood disaster response was water, food and shelter, but nowadays, with the usage of the internet and social media, communication is an everyday life function,” said Mr. Scott Griffin, Director of U.S. Pacific Command’s Multinational Communication Interoperability Program. “Before someone is asking for food, shelter, or water, someone is asking, is my loved-one safe?”

Which is why it’s important for these cyber, radio, and information managers to gain real world insight into spectrum management. When a disaster or humanitarian crisis occurs, that same signal may become a lifeline for responders.

“It’s because everything is centered around natural disaster and humanitarian assistance.” SMSgt Cook said. “When you have floods of people coming in for all the right reasons, to come in to help, everybody wants to use the spectrum, everybody wants to communicate, you can’t do that without coordination.”

Most countries have Radio Frequency (RF) capabilities, but not all have satellite. And with the frequent occurrence of natural disasters in the region, Pacific Endeavor 2016 organizers wanted to expand more on spectrum management with the participants.

“Getting all the different countries together is important for working on interoperability issues and making sure that different countries can talk to each other on their communication systems. It’s absolutely imperative in a crisis or disaster- making sure that everybody has equipment that works together is very important,” said MSgt Taylor.

Beyond the technical aspect of understanding spectrum management, the DISA team said just talking with other countries about their spectrum challenges and building a face-to-face relationship has been another welcomed benefit of Pacific Endeavor.

“It gets people here in a room, to talk amongst themselves as well, and they get a better understanding of what their dealing with here in this arena,” said MSgt Taylor. “I’ve seen a lot of very good feedback from the participants, they have a lot of interest, their very interested in spectrum management, I just think it’s definitely good to get the work out there.”

“I see it getting better and better- this is my third time, and I see nothing but improvement,” said SMSgt Cook.

Hosted by the Australian Defence Force and U.S. Pacific Command’s Multinational Communication Interoperability Program (MCIP), Pacific Endeavor 2016 in Brisbane is the culminating event of a year-long planning effort, which took participants and planners to Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and Mongolia. The exercise wraps up on September 2.