GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (Aug. 24, 2010) — The U.S. and allies in Central and South Asia are training here Aug. 19-28 to coordinate and improve their response to man-made or natural disasters.
Aimed at ensuring unity during times of disaster, the Regional Cooperation 2010 exercise brought together 100 participants from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and the United States.
“RC-10 has started with great enthusiasm and a high level of professionalism and should prove to be a very successful exercise,” said Maj. Gen. Jack A. Davis, a retired Marine and senior mentor for the exercise.
The scenario: chaos and unrest has set in after a large disaster in Kyrgyzstan. Using various realistic scenarios from the Regional Cooperation Center, participants (who are actually here at the George C. Marshall Center) work to stabilize and improve the situation.
Thanks to the computer-assisted consequence management exercise, participants should improve interoperability, strengthen relationships, increase knowledge and understanding, and improve the training levels of their staffs and civilian agencies.
The exercise is running in phases, to produce a progressive understanding for those involved. The first phase was Academics, where participants completed procedural and process training required to shape and furnish efficient, timely responses to disasters.
The second phase, is a mini-exercise in communication and execution, and will harness timely responses in fluid situations to simulate the actual environment and prepare participants for the final phase.
The regional exercise is sponsored by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and executed by U.S. Central Command. With U.S. Joint Forces Command supporting the effort, the final phase will produce an end-state where the host national will have a coherent, unified response to a variety of disaster scenarios.