HONOLULU, Hawaii – United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is leading the fight against biological threats by hosting Malama Pacific, the command’s first deliberate Biological Defense Tabletop Exercise (TTX) focused on strengthening the Joint Force’s readiness to operate and win in biologically contested environments within the First Island Chain. Malama Pacific is part of a series of USARPAC initiatives to enhance the warfighter’s lethality while operating in contaminated environments.
Sponsored by the U.S. Army Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Agency (USANCA) and with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) serving as the facilitation team and lead trainers, Malama Pacific brought together Army Service Component Commands and interagency stakeholders for three days of collaborative scenario-based training. The exercise served to educate the participants regarding departmental and national biodefense capabilities to directly empower warfighters to understand, protect against and mitigate the effects of a biological incident to enhance deterrence.
“Malama Pacific is about readiness and deterrence. By bringing together our Joint Force, interagency partners, and leading scientists from Johns Hopkins APL, we’re demonstrating our resolve to fight and win — even when facing biological threats in the Pacific,” said U.S. Army LTC David Kingery, Lead Biological Defense Integrator at USANCA. “Proving that we can sustain operations, protect our people, and maintain freedom of movement under any condition serves as a significant deterrent.”
Through operationally realistic vignettes - from deliberate biological threats to accidental or naturally occurring hazards - Malama Pacific explored how the Army and its partners will maintain force flow, protect critical infrastructure, and uphold freedom of movement under biological threat conditions. In doing so, the exercise supports updated Homeland Defense and Taiwan Contingency plans, ensuring interoperability and seamless response across domains and partners.
“Partnering with USARPAC gives our scientists and engineers the opportunity to deliver real solutions to real problems. Exercises like Malama Pacific connect cutting-edge research with the Warfighter, ensuring our nation can fight and win when faced with a biological incident, regardless of origin,” said Dr. Jeff Bacon, Exercise Facilitation Team Lead and a Senior Professional Staff Scientist, Applied Biological Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “This effort highlights the power of partnership with a university affiliated research center whose mission is to provide dedicated on-call engineering, scientific, and analytic expertise in support of our partners real-world challenges, therefore, enhancing CBRNe readiness and integrated deterrence.”
Participants included key staff from USARPAC, alongside U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Department of the Army, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Health and Human Services, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Guam National Guard. Combat Support Agencies to include the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Defense Health Agency were represented and participated strongly. Critical Joint and Combined elements such as I Corps, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, 11th Airborne Division, USARJ, and U.S. Pacific Fleet also contributed to this first-of-its-kind biodefense effort.
Malama Pacific is part of a broader USARPAC commitment to modernize biodefense and enhance Warfighter lethality in contaminated environments, ensuring America’s Army remains ready to deter, fight, and win no matter the threat.