Page 116 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Winter 2014

An Ongoing Series

Force Health Protection Support Following a Natural Disaster:

The 227th Medical Detachment’s Role in
Response to Superstorm Sandy

Scott E. Stanley, PhD; Jason B. Faulkenberry, MS

Editor’s Note: Beginning in 2013, US Army Forces Com- Introduction
mand placed a number of specialized medical units on
a “prepare to deploy order” (PTDO) in support of US The current version of US Army’s Field Manual 3-0,
Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). The Operations, describes the future operational environ-
PTDO allows commanders the opportunity to draw ment as one filled with persistent conflict due to urban-
upon the expertise these units offer to enhance effective- ization, overpopulation, failing nation states, scarcity
ness across a broad spectrum of mission sets. What fol- of resources, globalization, technology, proliferation of
lows is an article that not only highlights many lessons weapons of mass destruction, climate change, and natural
1
learned related to disaster assistance for use by Special disasters. At the same time, President Barrack Obama, in
Operations Forces (SOF) medical personnel but also ar- Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for the 21st
ticulates the application and functionality of a preventive Century Defense, provides his strategic direction to the
2
medicine team or detachment in humanitarian assistance Department of Defense (DoD) for the near future. In this
and disaster response. The newly available access to spe- document, the Commander in Chief states that conduct-
cialized medical units that now exists for USASOC units ing humanitarian and disaster relief is one of the primary
is a force multiplier that clearly supports the Army SOF missions of the US Armed Forces. Both documents dis-
priority of optimizing SOF interdependence. tinctly state the importance of the DoD in support of fu-
ture natural disaster and humanitarian relief efforts.

ABSTRACT As a case in point, the 227th Preventive Medicine Medi-
cal Detachment deployed in support of disaster relief
On 3 November 2012, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy,
the 227th Preventive Medicine Medical Detachment de- operations following Superstorm Sandy making landfall
ployed to support relief operations in New Jersey and along the North Atlantic coast of the United States (Fig-
New York State. The unit was on the severe weather sup- ure 1). Here, we capture the lessons learned from the
port mission (SWRF) and ordered to provide preventive unit’s rapid deployment and provide teaching points for
medicine support to relief personnel within the affected other units who may be called on to provide Defense
area. In addition, teams from the 227th conducted en- Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) or humanitarian
vironmental surveillance in the two-state region where assistance and disaster relief (HADR) (Table 1). Specifi-
Army Corps of Engineers were pumping floodwaters cally, we focus on DoD preventive medicine support in
from affected neighborhoods. The 227th rapid deploy- DSCA and HADR environments as other preventive
ment highlights the complexities associated with defense medicine detachments assume the Defense Chemical,
support to civil authorities and provides excellent teach- Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Response Force
ing points that may enhance units’ expeditionary pos- (DCRF) and Severe Weather Response Force (SWRF)
ture, regardless of mission. missions and the DoD withdraws its focus away from
US Central Command (CENTCOM) to other Combat-
ant Commands, including the US Northern Command
Keywords: force health protection support, natural disas- (NORTHCOM) and US Southern Command, where the
ter, Superstorm Sandy
likelihood of such missions is high. Despite this focus on
preventive medicine, our key points are important to all

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