2011 may very well go down in history as a year of great natural disasters, and in response in East Timor they are doing something positive about it.
Following a request from the East Timorese Army (Falintil-Forças de Defesa de Timor Leste or F-FDTL) the International Stabilisation Force’s Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) team has run a suite of courses designed to enhance the planning and conduct of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) operations by the F-FDTL.
Course coordinator Captain Steve Catalano from the Australian Army said while individual CIMIC courses had been run in East Timor before, his team had used a stepped-approach over two courses to build capability within the F-FDTL.
“In the first course we concentrated on basic concepts for HADR,” he said.
“In the second course we’ve taken the same students and developed their planning processes by putting them through a field exercise in regional East Timor to liaise with real government, police and medical departments that would also respond to an emergency.
“Through this training and rehearsing the F-FDTL soldiers can better understand the planning process, including the need for a whole-of-government liaison architecture and the requirement to coordinate and collaborate with other agencies so that resources are best utilised.”
20 East Timorese soldiers completed the courses, a result that the F-FDTL’s commander Major General Taur Matan Ruak said was of great benefit to his country.
“CIMIC operations are very important to our Army because when a natural disaster occurs the Government will naturally request our help,” he said.
“Teaching our young officers and sergeants to conduct CIMIC operations allows us to improve our participation within the Government’s disaster management response.
“We are very grateful to the ISF for conducting this course, and we look forward to more skills-transfer courses from the ISF in the future.”
Information about the ADF in East Timor is available at: http://www.defence.gov.au/op/eastTimor/index.htm
AUS DoD
Following a request from the East Timorese Army (Falintil-Forças de Defesa de Timor Leste or F-FDTL) the International Stabilisation Force’s Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) team has run a suite of courses designed to enhance the planning and conduct of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) operations by the F-FDTL.
Course coordinator Captain Steve Catalano from the Australian Army said while individual CIMIC courses had been run in East Timor before, his team had used a stepped-approach over two courses to build capability within the F-FDTL.
“In the first course we concentrated on basic concepts for HADR,” he said.
“In the second course we’ve taken the same students and developed their planning processes by putting them through a field exercise in regional East Timor to liaise with real government, police and medical departments that would also respond to an emergency.
“Through this training and rehearsing the F-FDTL soldiers can better understand the planning process, including the need for a whole-of-government liaison architecture and the requirement to coordinate and collaborate with other agencies so that resources are best utilised.”
20 East Timorese soldiers completed the courses, a result that the F-FDTL’s commander Major General Taur Matan Ruak said was of great benefit to his country.
“CIMIC operations are very important to our Army because when a natural disaster occurs the Government will naturally request our help,” he said.
“Teaching our young officers and sergeants to conduct CIMIC operations allows us to improve our participation within the Government’s disaster management response.
“We are very grateful to the ISF for conducting this course, and we look forward to more skills-transfer courses from the ISF in the future.”
Information about the ADF in East Timor is available at: http://www.defence.gov.au/op/eastTimor/index.htm
AUS DoD