Hawaii National Guard Renews Relationship with Indonesia with GEMA BHAKTI Workshop

Photo By Master Sgt. Andrew Jackson | Lt. Col. David Hosea, Hawaii Army National Guard, introduces the center of gravity assessment step of the operational design process to a team of military planners from the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) and the Hawaii National Guard during the operational design workshop of Exercise GEMA BHAKTI, Sept 18, 2021, Jakarta Indonesia. The operational design workshop in the precursor exercise for Exercise GEMA BHAKTI and is facilitated by the Hawaii National Guard with the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) as a part of the State Partnership Program. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Andrew Jackson)  

JAKARTA, INDONESIA

09.20.2021

Story by Master Sgt. Andrew Jackson 

State of Hawaii, Department of Defense, Public Affairs Office

A team of military planners from the Hawaii National Guard (HING) kicked off an operational design workshop with the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 16, 2021. The workshop is the precursor for Exercise GEMA BHAKTI, a peace operation and humanitarian assistance exercise, which will commence on September 21, 2021. The HING facilitates the workshop as a part of the State Partnership Program (SPP). This is the first face-to-face SPP exchange between the TNI and HING since late 2019 due to the COVID Pandemic. USINDOPACOM service components are also participating in this year’s workshop.
“The HING has ongoing relationship with the TNI,” said Lt. Col. David Hosea, HING Military planner. “Building this relationship, sharing experiences, and training alongside our partners, helps maintain security and stability in the Pacific.”
The HING is state a partner with Indonesia and regularly held combined exercises and events to increase the depth of that relationship before the pandemic. This is the fourth year Hawaii and Indonesia have participated in an operational design seminar. The 2020 edition was executed virtually.
Operational design is a process where a committee of military members, and sometimes members of government, examine very complex problems to help define variables, goals, tension points, and a desired end-state to aid in the planning and execution of military or governmental action. The process is a key first step in military planning that requires committees of personnel from diverse backgrounds that want to understand complex socio-political problems and make recommendations on a desired end-state or develop an operational approach. Once the scenario is framed, analyzed, and debated then lines of effort are proposed. The lines of effort define the actions needed to move a situation from the current state to the desired state, and once agreed upon this will trigger Exercise GEMA BHAKTI.
“Operational design takes complex situations and breaks them down in easy, manageable steps in the military planning process,” said Lt. Col. Brandon Torres, Hawaii Army National Guard military intelligence officer. “This is important because in our current operation environment, things are not as simple as they used to be. It is imperative that this step is done right. We need to be able to think through the wicked problems and get to a solution for those problems. This process helps us to define what the true nature of the problem is so we can plan a response.”
A secondary goal of the operational design workshop is the establishing of relationships between the Hawaii National Guardsmen and their Indonesian counterparts. During the four day exercise the full spectrum of team building are experienced, from storming to conforming. The added COVID-19 protocols had little diminishing effect on the overall exercise. The Hawaii National Guard brought a diverse team for this year’s workshop to help foster a deeper level of discussions and exposure for the staff. A hallmark of this type of military engagement is professionally spirted conversations as each member shares from their knowledge, experience and opinions on the different aspects of the scenario and they work as a team to come to a common understanding.
As the teams worked through the operational design process to frame the problem, their relationships began to mesh, and new facets of the scenario came to light. Throughout each day the entire group would pause, and each team would present their products - further shedding light on different variables and possible ways forward.
“I have learned a lot during this staff exercise,” said Maj. Raja Sitanggang, Tentara Nasional Indonesia staff officer. “As a peace keeping officer, I help guide the planning process as we transition from peace enforcement to peace keeping inside this year’s exercise scenario. This exercise requires us to think critically and creatively because there is no easy established answer. The Hawaii National Guard is very professional and selected diverse officers to represent them in this program. It is impressive.”
While the COVID protocols; mandatory mask wear, temperature checks, and periodic room sanitization, had little effect on the actual execution of the workshop, getting the military staffs in one room for the first time in 18 months required many more steps than usual. Every member of the U.S. delegation was required to be fully vaccinated and were tested multiple times before leaving for Indonesia. They adhered to the required 7-day quarantine and were tested an additional 2 times before the workshop could be started. The TNI members were also quarantined before the start of the exercise.

• Date Taken: 09.20.2021
• Date Posted: 09.21.2021 04:27
• Story ID: 405585
• Location: JAKARTA, ID