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Representatives from the Indian Armed Forces, along with more than 20 other partner and allied militaries, gathered to discuss the value and enhancement of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities during the fifth iteration of the Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium, or PALS, in Honolulu, Hawaii, June 3 through 6, 2019.
Key themes and presentations discussed at this year’s symposium were civil-military integration, setting the theater for optimized cooperation and planning for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
“PALS is important and unique because it gives a chance for the military leaders in this region to interact seamlessly and give a chance to improve their bilateral, or multilateral relations,” said Indian Army Brigadier Gaurav Guatam, commander, 108 Mountain Brigade.
PALS started in 2015 to enhance amphibious operability and crisis response capabilities while fostering mutual international relationships. The symposium is designed to foster greater stability and prosperity by facilitating multilateral/ bilateral discussions and engagements to plan, foster and encourage amphibious development.
“Every nation represented here today plays a vital role in our collective readiness to respond to HA/DR events and resiliency to bounce back from them,” said Adm. Phil Davidson, commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. “HA/DR is a prime example of an issue that allows many of us to come together and engage in beneficial partnerships.”
The symposium culminates with a static display of HA/DR-capable equipment on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, showcasing such assets as the MV-22 Osprey airframe, capable of externally lifting 10,000 pounds; the Tactical Water Purification System, able to produce approximately 1,500 gallons of potable water per hour; as well as new innovations in HA/DR-related technologies, such as new Unmanned Aircraft Systems, magnetic speakers and speech translators.
The purpose of the symposium is to bring together militaries with established HA/DR capabilities to “cross-pollinate” best-practices and lessons-learned, as well as bringing in those partner militaries looking to further develop their own capabilities.
“This region is prone to HA/DR related activities, and it has been noticed that a number of times there have been coordination issues,” said Guatam. “So at the planning level, this is a good idea so the top leaders can go back home and improve upon their SOPs.”
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 06.06.2019 00:27 |
| Story ID: | 325658 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 56 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Indian Armed Forces leaders attend PALS19 to discuss humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities, by 1LT Thomas Miller, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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