Joint Humanitarian Operations Course prepares JECC members for crisis response

Photo By Whitney Katz | U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Donald Barrett (standing), a member of the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command Joint Planning Support Element, facilitates a group exercise during the Joint Humanitarian Operations Course, Sept. 5. The JECC offers the JHOC twice a year to ensure personnel are familiar with the multi-faceted nature of humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations.  

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, VA, UNITED STATES

09.20.2013

Story by Whitney Katz 

Joint Enabling Capabilities Command

NORFOLK, Va. – The Joint Enabling Capabilities Command exists for crisis response and therefore, must be familiar with the latest policies and procedures surrounding humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations. The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance conducts the Joint Humanitarian Operations Course twice a year at JECC headquarters in Norfolk, Va. to ensure JECC personnel are educated on the various aspects of HA/DR missions.

In 2004, the USAID/OFDA developed the JHOC to prepare military leaders and planners to work collaboratively during HA/DR operations and has been conducting the course for JECC personnel since 2009.

“This course helps JECC members understand the responsibilities and the relations among U.S. government agencies in an HA/DR response,” said Mr. Tom Frey, a USAID/OFDA instructor who leads the JHOC. “It also describes how civilian and military organizations work together to respond effectively to different types of disasters, especially those that the JECC may be requested to support.”

Thirty-five members of the Joint Planning Support Element, one of the JECC’s three subordinate joint commands, participated in the latest JHOC iteration from Sept. 5-6 to gain relevant knowledge and best practices in preparation for supporting potential disasters around the world. In addition to the JECC’s two other subordinate elements – the Joint Communications Support Element and the Joint Public Affairs Support Element which provide joint communications and joint public affairs capabilities, respectively – JPSE is frequently requested to bring rapidly deployable joint planning, operations, knowledge management, logistics and intelligence expertise to HA/DR missions.

It is important for the JECC to continually train its personnel on HA/DR operations to maintain a comprehensive corporate knowledge base. For many incoming JPSE members, this is the first time they’ve been exposed to the whole-of-government approach to HA/DR missions and the specific roles of all participating organizations.

“It was good to understand the full capability of USAID and all the mission-critical coordination points and how they tie back to military interaction,” said U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Joe Martin, a relatively new member of JPSE. “This course provided the valuable insight I would need to coordinate with USAID/OFDA and other government or non-governmental agencies.”

“This has been a good class that provides great takeaway resources,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Eric Skinner, another JPSE member. “Since USAID/OFDA is the U.S. government lead for HA/DR work, it’s good to know their expectations and understand how they operate.”

Additionally, the JECC has gained substantial operational experience following participation in numerous HA/DR missions; like Joint Task Force-Haiti in 2010 and Operation Tomodachi in 2011. The JHOC instructors use the JECC’s role in these previous real-world operations as relevant examples to help explain to newer personnel, how the JECC has been employed.

“In this course we often discuss how the JECC personnel have taken JHOC and then supported real-world deployments, said Frey. “The linkages developed during this course have led to successful relations during HA responses.”

The JHOC ensures the JECC is not only prepared for an HA/DR operation, but will also be a value-added asset during the overall execution of the mission. The JHOC helps JECC personnel comprehend the multi-faceted nature of HA/DR operations and provides tangible resources which can be employed if and when a crisis occurs.

• Date Taken: 09.20.2013
• Date Posted: 09.20.2013 14:05
• Story ID: 113999
• Location: NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, VA, US