US, South America military leaders meet in Chile to discuss humanitarian assistance, disaster relief support

Photo By Chief Master Sgt. Raymond Sarracino | U.S. Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, commander of U.S. Southern Command, speaks to attendees during the 3rd Annual South American Defense Chiefs Conference in Santiago, Chile. Senior military and civilian defense leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the United States and Uruguay participated in SOUTHDEC from Aug. 31-Sept. 1 to discuss future military support to civilian emergency-response agencies during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in the region. (Photo by Jose Ruiz, U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs)  

SANTIAGO, CHILE

09.01.2011

Courtesy Story

U.S. Southern Command

By Jose Ruiz
U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs

SANTIAGO, Chile — Senior military and civilian defense leaders from a dozen Western Hemisphere nations gathered in Santiago, Chile, Aug. 31-Sept. 1 to discuss future military support to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) operations in the region.

The leaders gathered during the 3rd Annual South America Defense Chiefs Conference (SOUTHDEC), co-hosted by the Joint Staff of the Chilean Armed Forces and U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM).

U.S. and Chilean representatives were joined by counterparts from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, as well as observers from U.S. Northern Command, the Inter-American Defense Board and Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies.

Chilean Defense Minister Andrés Allamand joined U.S. Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, USSOUTHCOM Commander, and Lt. Gen. Hernán Mardones, Chief of the Chilean Armed Forces, in delivering opening remarks during the event commencement.

This year’s conference included briefings, roundtable discussions and meetings focused on improving collaboration and coordination among regional defense forces assisting civilian agencies during international relief missions.

The focus of this year’s SOUTHDEC supports an initiative announced by senior civilian defense leaders in November 2010 during the IX Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas (CDMA) in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The initiative calls for the development of a common-technology platform to facilitate information sharing and a military assistance collaboration cell to enhance the interoperability of regional armed forces supporting civilian emergency response agencies in future HA/DR missions.

In response to the ministerial announcement, regional defense leaders and experts conducted working groups in Lima, Peru, and San Jose, Costa Rica, to develop a framework and explore implementation options for the initiative.

“This conference will allow us to support the multinational military coordination efforts of the working groups,” Fraser told attendees prior to the start of the conference.

With that aim, participants also examined lessons learned during prior missions, explored improvement opportunities, and considered recommendations to further the goals of the CDMA initiative.

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Steven Shepro, Director of USSOUTHCOM’s Strategy, Policy and Plans directorate, briefed attendees on U.S. HA/DR collaboration efforts and described the varying levels of interagency and multinational integration observed during past operations.

“The folks in the field naturally jump into coordination and collaboration,” he explained, adding that similar cooperation and coordination at the operational and strategic levels (where interagency and multinational planners are often geographically separated) is more challenging to jumpstart.

Because a common technology platform would facilitate greater information sharing and potentially improve coordination and collaboration at all levels, many conference participants expressed their support for further developing the concept and implementing it during future HA/DR exercises and operations.

Though exactly what the platform will look like and how it will be managed has yet to be determined, the working groups have identified what users will want from such a tool, Shepro said.

“I think the consensus of the (working) groups … is that it be participant based … and meet their level of comfort to report what assets they can provide and to provide their understanding of the situation,” he explained.

Speaking to his counterparts about the CDMA’s agreement to establish a military assistance coordination cell, Fraser shared his perspective about the cell’s potential role in future multinational HA/DR operations. He proposed that the cell not be permanent, but have protocols allowing for its activation and deployment to support militaries in countries impacted by disasters when their government’s request for international assistance includes military components.

“Dealing with a disaster within a country is a full-time job for each of us,” he said. “And to have a cell that can take some of the load off, but provide capacity as required, is very beneficial.”

Ideas and recommendations proposed in this year’s SOUTHDEC will be shared with future working groups, who will use the input to formulate proposals for regional defense ministers to consider during the next CDMA in 2012.

SOUTHDEC is one of three regional security conferences sponsored by USSOUTHCOM each year to provide forums for dialogue and exchanges among defense and security leaders from the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

This year’s SOUTHDEC follows previous conferences with defense and security leaders from Central America and the Caribbean in San Pedro, Belize and Port of Spain, Trinidad.

• Date Taken: 09.01.2011
• Date Posted: 09.01.2011 14:40
• Story ID: 76314
• Location: SANTIAGO, CL