Photo By Master Sgt. Theanne Tangen | Silke Banuelos-Kuang, UN-OCHA civil-military coordination officer, discusses...... read more read more
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — Twenty-seven representatives from humanitarian, civilian and military organizations assembled at the United Nations Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination Course (UN-CMCoord) for Asia and the Pacific at the Navy Lodge, Ford Island, Oct. 27 - Nov. 1.
The course is designed to provide participants with knowledge and skills to have effective civil-military interactions when responding to natural disasters and complex emergencies.
“We partnered with the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance to conduct this course,” said Silke Banuelos-Kuang, UN-OCHA civil-military coordination officer. “In order to ensure representation from a wide variety of perspectives, the selection process to attend the course is competitive.
Throughout the training event, lectures and practical exercises are presented on a wide range of topics such as Protection in Disaster Response, UN-CMCoord Guidelines, Principles and Standards, Logistics Cluster and Civil-Military coordination, and many more.
“During the training, participants are focused on the core principles guiding civil-military coordination, but it also provides an unparalleled opportunity to learn from the real-world experience of experts in the field,” said Jesse Wolfe, CFE-DM Training and Engagements branch chief. “Humanitarians and militaries often misunderstand each other and this training builds a shared understanding that pays dividends at the time of crisis.”
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command attendee U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael Sarro, future operations planner, found value in how the practical exercises exposed the differences in how the military operates versus the civilian sector.
“The practical exercises have been enlightening to opening up my mind from always thinking of how the military operates to learning how civilian partners see a problem, said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael Sarro, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command future operations planner. “The group participation breaks down the barriers for us to learn each other’s perspectives and how together we can achieve positive outcomes.”
Representatives from various backgrounds facilitated the course modules to include UN-OCHA, CFE-DM, World Food Programme, USAID-OFDA, IFRC, Papua New Guinea Red Cross Society, and III Marine Expeditionary Force of the United States Marine Corps, Okinawa, Japan.
Participant and guest speaker Mr. Uvenama Rova, PNG Red Cross Society general secretary, plans on taking the information learned and sharing it with his counterparts.
“I have a better understanding of how we cooperate, coordinate and co-exist with the military,” said Rova. “Papua New Guinea is a vulnerable country to both man-made and natural disasters. I will be hosting a workshop with my management to inform our national council about the skills and knowledge I gained.”
CFE-DM and UN-OCHA plan to continue their partnership of connecting representatives from humanitarian, civilian and military organizations by co-hosting the first UN-CMCoord Course in Seoul, South Korea, next year.
| Date Taken: | 11.01.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 11.01.2019 23:41 |
| Story ID: | 350231 |
| Location: | HI, US |
| Hometown: | JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 141 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, CFE-DM hosts UN-OCHA humanitarian civil-military coordination training, by MSgt Theanne Tangen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT