Photo By 2nd Lt. Jorge Intriago | U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston, Jr. (right), the adjutant general of South...... read more read more
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BOGOTA, Colombia - With Colombian forces getting closer to achieving security in their country, their focus is shifting to humanitarian assistance relief and disaster preparedness. The South Carolina National Guard and the Republic of Colombia held their first State Partnership Program engagement Feb. 19-22 to share ideas on natural disaster preparedness and humanitarian assistance relief.
Soldiers and airmen from the S.C. National Guard, who routinely train for and support disaster response and humanitarian assistance, traveled to Colombia and met with their Colombian counterparts in the military and national police. Together they formed a subject matter expert exchange and shared capabilities, lessons learned, and experiences to learn how they can improve readiness.
“The professional dialogue on military support to civil authorities during a natural disaster was very informative and facilitated learning from all parties,” said Col. Ken Rosado, joint operations officer for the S.C. National Guard. “We face many of the same types of potential natural disasters and it was very beneficial to exchange ideas and discuss common challenges.”
The South Carolina National Guard shared with the Colombians an effective web-based tool used in disaster response, the South Carolina Common Operating Picture enhance (SCOPe). The Guard demonstrated how the tool allows the armed forces to share a common operating picture with civilian organizations of affected areas and response.
“From a disaster preparedness perspective, understanding their challenges and capabilities, allows us to better understand and target exactly how we can better assist one another. There are practical applications, such as SCOPe, and EMST, (Emergency Management Staff Trainer), that aide us in awareness and disaster preparation that can be useful to the Colombian military to improve their readiness posture for disasters,” said Lt. Col. Clarence Bowser, future operations branch chief.
Another part of the exchange was incorporating legal oversight into their humanitarian operations. The Colombian military does not have a lawyer career field in their armed forces, unlike the U.S. military judge advocate general (JAG) career field.
“It was a great opportunity for our team to share our knowledge and experience with our State Partners in Colombia. On a personal level, I appreciated the opportunity to work with the leadership of the Colombian Army and Air Force on the establishment of a legal framework and rules of engagement in military disaster relief missions,” said Lt. Col. Butch Bowers, Air National Guard JAG.
The SPP coordinator, Maj. David King said, “This engagement was a huge move forward with Colombia. It let us engage at a very high level with the Colombians and allowed us to share our vision of the partnership with the Colombian leadership.”
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.05.2013 11:35 |
| Story ID: | 102929 |
| Location: | BOGOTA, CO |
| Web Views: | 230 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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