CFE-DM Week of May 25
05.28.2015
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – The Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance is engaged with partners in Indonesia, Mongolia and Malaysia this week.
Malaysia
Jim Welsh, Training and Engagements Branch chief for CFE-DM, acted as a after action and information sharing subject matter expert during the ASEAN Regional Forum Disaster Relief Exercise (ARF DiREX) in Alor Star, Malaysia, May 23-28.
Inaugurated in 2009, the ARF DiREX is a large-scale simulation exercise designed to exercise civilian and military coordination mechanisms and procedures during a major disaster response.
Co-chaired by Malaysia and China, more than 1,700 search and rescue personnel from 22 countries participated in the exercise, along with 220 international experts in the conjoining tabletop exercise. The Department of State led U.S. participation in the event.
Mongolia
Instructors from CFE-DM and U.S. Pacific Command held a Civil-Military Emergency Preparedness Senior Leader Seminar (SLS) Workshop in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia, May 26-27.
Sixteen leaders from eight organizations and agencies of the Government of Mongolia attended the SLS workshop, including representatives from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Mongolian Armed Forces (MAF).
The first day included NEMA representatives providing presentations on the revisions to the Mongolian laws and standard operating procedures for disaster response, balanced with presentations on analyses from previous disaster preparedness assessment activities.
The second day discussed case studies on earthquakes from other locations such as the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, but also the ongoing response to Nepal's recent tremors.
“The cases studies are very valuable,” said Lt. Col. A. Baljinnyam of the MAF, who participated in the U.S.-Mongolia civil-military Exercise Gobi Wolf. “However, future exercises must take into consideration the harsh winters in Mongolia. The exercises should be based on that type of scenario with the details unique to Mongolia included.”
Exercise Gobi Wolf is an annual disaster preparedness and response initiative that includes governmental, nongovernmental, municipal and military agencies across Mongolia, the U.S. and international relief agencies to focus on regional readiness in response to natural and manmade disasters.
“The concept of operations template that was provided during the course is very helpful,” said Oyunbileg Naiden, a specialist from the Mongolian Ministry of Health and Sports. “Our [humanitarian assistance and disaster response] programs are still very young, and we wish to learn as much as we can.”
Indonesia
Jesse Wolfe, a disaster management and humanitarian assistance advisor for CFE-DM, joined the teaching staff of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) Supporting Humanitarian Action in Responding to Emergencies and Disasters (SHARED) course held at Indonesia's International Peace and Security Center in Sentul, May 25-29.
The SHARED course instruction improves the civil-military effectiveness of humanitarian action in natural disasters and complex emergencies by informing military personnel of the differing characteristics and duties of the humanitarian community.
“Each actor has different mandates, and different strengths and weaknesses. We increase the ability for them to work together with minimal friction,” said Ronaldo Reario previously, a humanitarian affairs officer with the UNOCHA Training and Partnership Unit at the Geneva-based office.
Course participants include senior active and retired military officers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Indonesia, the Philippines, and U.S. Pacific Command. Several of the participants are instructors and faculty members at their country's peacekeeping and security centers, including the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training, Institute of Peacekeeping Support Operations Training Sri Lanka, and Centre for International Peace and Stability in Islamabad.
Jim Reilly, Civil-Military Emergency Preparedness (CMEP) Program lead for the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, gives a brief to Government of Mongolia, Mongolian Armed Forces and World Vision Mongolia officials during a CMEP Senior Leader Seminar Workshop in Ulaanbataar, Mongolia May 25.
Instructors from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance present UNOCHA’s Supporting Humanitarian Action in Responding to Emergencies and Disasters (SHARED) course at Indonesia's International Peace and Security Center in Sentul, May 25-29.