LAE, Papua New Guinea –
U.S. Army Pacific and the Government of Papua New
Guinea completed the first Oceania Pacific Resilience Disaster Response Exercise
and Exchange May 15 in Lae, Papua New Guinea with a closing ceremony and remarks
from Maj. Gen. James Pasquarette, USARPAC deputy commanding general, and Brig.
Gen. Gilbert Toropo, commander of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force.
The
Oceania DREE was a five-day exercise hosted by the Papua New Guinea National
Disaster Centre and the Papua New Guinea Defence Force. The DREE consisted of
presentations and discussions from subject matter experts, a tabletop exercise,
a field training exercise and an after action review.
“An exercise such
as this is a significant exercise that can allow our agencies to properly
practice and mitigate the circumstances that confront us,” said Toropo “This
exercise will also help other agencies identify the strengths and their
weaknesses, so that we can better prepare for times of an emergency.”
The
disaster scenario used for this year’s DREE was a cyclone severely impacting the
regional island nations and moving on to Lae, Papua New Guinea. The scenario
involved floods restricting roads and port activities.
More than 80
participants from PNG, the U.S., Australia, Solomon Islands, various
international organizations, private organizations, and nongovernmental
organizations participated in the exercise.
A field training exercise was
conducted during the DREE and took place at the Lae port, Australian New Guinea
Administrative Unit (ANGAU) Memorial Hospital and the Nadzib Airport.
Participants had the opportunity to evaluate and tour these facilities to
further understand the capabilities needed to support the Province in the case
of a major disaster.
“We should set frameworks after this, so that all
government agencies can work together within that framework,” said Toropo. “If
we practice together in peacetime, we will be able to effectively deal with the
outcomes of a natural disaster.”
On the final day of the exercise an
after action review and was followed by a closing ceremony featuring cultural
dance groups from local tribes and gift exchanges between USARPAC and PNGDF.
After the ceremony was completed, Pasquarette and Toropo held a press conference
to answer questions from the media about the recent exercise.
Pacific
Resilience is USARPAC’s platform to engage, partner and prepare for a
Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Response, using both military and civilian
organizations in order to enhance the ability to respond and recover from an
emergency situation. It is not a singular event, but one of many exercises that
ensure that the United States Army Pacific is prepared to assist our global
partners.
“I will tell you that beyond working through the hard problems
of the exercise over the last few days, more importantly we have established
some important personal relationships that, if nurtured, can linger well into
the future and I hope that the lessons learned during this exercise will be part
of a growing relationship between our two nations,” said Pasquarette.
Source link : https://www.pacom.mil/JTF-Micronesia/Article/589700/a-first-for-oceania/
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Publish date : 2024-06-17 15:15:13
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