HART training goes to Okinawa
08.19.2016
OKINAWA, Japan – Taking the class to the source, a Humanitarian Assistance Response Training (HART) team traveled to Okinawa from August 16 – 19 to prepare 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade staff for their role as the U.S. Pacific Command’s first responders to a major disaster in the Asia-Pacific region. Attending the Center’s HART Course were more than 30 planners, medical personnel, logisticians, and senior leaders that will deploy as the core of a disaster response joint task force.
The CFE-DM HART Course prepares United States military commanders and their staffs to respond more effectively during civilian-led humanitarian assistance and foreign disaster response missions. The four-day, operational-level course focuses on applying the military planning and decision-making process to the unique circumstances associated with a foreign humanitarian assistance operation. Participants employ realistic scenarios and existing plans to develop a concept of operations for a joint task force response to a major Asian disaster. Case studies, small group practical applications, and role-playing exercises enhance lectures by civilian and military experts.
“We try to bring the best, most diverse team possible,” said John Miller, HART course lead for the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. “In addition to our own team, this HART course incorporates subject matter experts from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Food Programme. These key organizations are who 3rd MEB and III MEF will work with in a response environment.”
Guest instructors included Viviana De Annuntiis, humanitarian civil-military coordination officer with OCHA’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Nate Nathanson, a civil-military coordinator for WFP, and Canadian Army Lt. Col. Jason King, a liaison officer to U.S. Pacific Command Future Operations. The three experts lectured, facilitated small-group exercises, and shared their lessons learned from recent disaster response experiences.
“The HART course is central to providing course participants with a comprehensive and realistic overview of how different stakeholders will need to work together in large-scale disaster response operations,” said De Annuntiis. “It also provides the opportunity to outline the key principles and concepts related to humanitarian civil-military coordination and the role of OCHA in this regard."
The HART Course is taught 12 to 15 times per year to U.S. joint and service component commands most likely to lead or support a humanitarian assistance operation. An online version of the HART Course is available for individual service members seeking to increase their experience with this important mission. Additional information regarding CFE-DM training and education programs can be found at https://www.cfe-dmha.org/Training.”
Marines from 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and III Marine Expeditionary Force work through a disaster scenario during the Humanitarian Assistance Response Training (HART) course in Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 19. The HART course provides professional development on civil-military coordination for U.S. and international military officials who may deploy during disaster response missions.
(Standing from left) Canadian Army Lt. Col. Jason King, a liaison officer to U.S. Pacific Command future operations, and Viviana De Annuntiis, humanitarian civil-military coordination officer with OCHA’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific give a lecture during the Humanitarian Assistance Response Training (HART) course in Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 19.