LAE, Papua New Guinea — U.S. and international disaster response subject matter experts joined Papua New Guinea government agencies, military personnel, nongovernmental organizations and industry partners Aug. 10-14 for a Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Field Training Exercise in Lae, Papua New Guinea.
The exercise provided hands-on training in search and extraction, medical response, site security, camp management and oil spill response at the Port of Lae and Igam Barracks.
Participants included members of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force, National Disaster Centre, National Maritime Safety Authority, Port of Lae, provincial disaster offices, Papua New Guinea Red Cross and other government and international organizations.
At the Port of Lae, U.S. Coast Guard personnel instructed participants on oil spill response techniques, including the deployment, recovery and maintenance of containment boom used to control spilled petroleum and prevent it from reaching shorelines and surrounding waterways.
U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Jesse Harms, chief of Marine Environmental Response for the Coast Guard's Hawaii office, said the training brought together organizations that would work together during an actual oil spill response.
“This is what it's like in reality,” Harms said. “You have to get all hands on deck to tackle problems like this.”
Participants practiced moving and deploying containment equipment while working with personnel from the military, government, port and private industry.
Harms said the training also gave participants an opportunity to identify equipment, personnel and knowledge gaps.
“You practice for a disaster with the people that would coordinate and engage in that disaster,” Harms said. “So when they show up, they know who each other are. They know that they're capable and that they've got basic training.”
The training included safety procedures for handling oil spill equipment and hazardous materials, proper protective equipment and decontamination procedures following an oil spill response.
Harms said continued training can help Papua New Guinea's response organizations develop the ability to conduct similar exercises independently.
“My goal when we walk away from this is that they feel accomplished and that they can use what they learned during our training to continue to work together and develop this type of exercise on their own,” Harms said. “Ideally, six months from now, they can perform this training without us here, protecting their port and building their resiliency even more.”
For Papua New Guinea participants, the practical portion of the exercise provided an opportunity to apply classroom instruction directly to response equipment.
Johnson Marem, a representative from Papua New Guinea's National Maritime Safety Authority, said the hands-on training gave participants experience they could not gain through classroom instruction alone.
“The classroom theory part of it is like seeing the board, but being able to go out and conduct hands-on training with the equipment itself was a great course of action,” Marem said.
Marem said he would like to see additional training with international partners, including the U.S. Coast Guard.
“I'd like to see more of our friends from the Wisconsin National Guard and U.S. Coast Guard,” Marem said.
Marem also said the National Maritime Safety Authority will continue working to develop its oil spill response capabilities and increase the number of personnel trained to respond to an oil spill.
The FTX continued at Igam Barracks, where Wisconsin National Guard Soldiers and Airmen instructed participants in domestic emergency response operations.
Lt. Col. Jared Siverling, 64th Troop Command, Wisconsin National Guard, said the training covered three primary areas: search and extraction, medical response and site security.
The search and extraction lane focused on techniques for removing injured and uninjured people from areas affected by disasters, including collapsed structures and landslides.
Medical personnel trained to assess and treat casualties after extraction, while security forces practiced establishing and maintaining a secure area so emergency response teams could operate safely.
“This is a subject matter expert engagement, so we involved experts from various organizations,” Siverling said. “Everyone here will go home better prepared to deal with this type of domestic operation in their city, province, or in their country.”
The Wisconsin National Guard and Papua New Guinea Defence Force established their formal State Partnership Program relationship in 2020, with the partnership formally confirmed in 2022. The two organizations have since conducted subject matter expert exchanges and larger-scale exercises.
Siverling said the partnership provides opportunities for both sides to exchange knowledge and experience.
“As I look out here and I look at the Defence Force and the civilians and the Wisconsin National Guard Soldiers and Airmen supporting this engagement, I'm proud,” Siverling said.
The training at Igam Barracks and the Port of Lae gave participants the opportunity to work through practical response tasks with personnel from multiple organizations.
Harms said bringing those organizations together was an important part of the training.
“It's letting people that don't normally work together feel better about working together and know that they can do this type of work,” Harms said.
The FTX concluded Aug. 14 after participants completed the practical training lanes and response scenarios at the two locations.
The exercise was led by the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance with support from the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby, PNG, Wisconsin National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, Papua New Guinea Defence Force, International Organization for Migration, Morobe Public Health Authority, and National Maritime Safety Authority.
| Date Taken: | 08.18.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2026 05:18 |
| Story ID: | 572721 |
| Location: | LAE, PG |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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