Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Angel Martinez-Navedo | As part of the State Partnership Program, members from a Dominican Republic military...... read more read more
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - As part of the State Partnership Program, officers of the Dominican Republic Armed Forces visited the Puerto Rico National Guard Emergency Response Team, known as CERF-P, during a training exercise at the Puerto Rico’s Fire Department Academy in San Juan.
“The purpose of our visit is to observe the operations and logistics of this unit in order to present a plan to our government for the creation of a similar outfit,” said Dominican Republic Army Col. Pascual Gonzalez Espíritu Santo, commander of the Dominican Republic's Army Emergency Response Unit. “I’m very impressed with everything I have seen so far especially with the way the unit deals with chemical emergencies.”
According to Gonzalez the visit serves as a point of reference for the acquisition of equipment and training for their unit.
“This visit gives us the opportunity to see, first hand, the type of equipment and its use in this kind of situation, and how important is the right equipment for the specific job at hand,” said Gonzalez.
The Dominican Republic Air Force also has its Emergency Response Team.
“We have plenty know-how in dealing with natural disaster scenarios. However, it is important to keep current and to improve the capabilities of our units constantly,” said Lt. Col. Mario Rivas, commander of the Dominican Republic's Air Force Search and Rescue Squadron. “For us is very important the scenarios in which chemicals are involved. Now we have the chance to observe the Puerto Rico National Guard protocols in dealing with this kind of situation and take this experience as a benchmark to present a proposal to our government for a unit with similar capabilities.”
According to Gonzales, the purpose for the creation of a CERF-P type unit goes beyond the borders of the Dominican Republic as plans may also involve the assistance to neighboring countries during emergencies.
The National Guard State Partnership Program is a program of the Department of Defense that links partner countries from around the world in an effort to promote common security goals and objectives. The unique civil-military nature of the National Guard greatly enhances this program.
Puerto Rico has two state partners in the region, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.
| Date Taken: | 04.07.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 04.07.2014 10:53 |
| Story ID: | 124633 |
| Location: | SAN JUAN, PR |
| Web Views: | 202 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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