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Representatives from the Sri Lankan 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.
“We have seen how other countries have responded; you can take examples and take things back home, the way they have reacted, how good they have reacted, what have been any downfalls, and what they have learned after the issues, so that you can make corrective measures,” said Sri Lankan Navy Rear Adm. Muditha Gamage, commander, North-Central Naval Area. “There are many things that you can put into practice, so we have a system of standards and procedures and can now add these things to see the best course of action taken in a situation of that nature.”
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.
“It’s really important because it brings the leaders with amphibious capabilities around the world so that you can sit together and discuss matters of mutual interest,” said Gamage.
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 06.06.2019 00:29 |
| Story ID: | 325659 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Sri Lankan 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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