By Lt. Col. Birender Singh Dhanoa, Indian Army
and Maj. Brian K. Hedrick, U.S. Army
Officers from Bangladesh, India, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the United States participated in Exercise PEACE SUPPORT, a Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) Command Post Exercise (CPX), held at Camp Smith, Hawaii, under the aegis of HQ U.S. Army, Pacific (USARPAC).
 |
|
Lt. Col. Birender Singh Dhanoa (co-author) briefs the Indian Army's Sierra Leone Peacekeeping Operation (PKO) to attendees at the South Asia PKO Command Post Exercise (CPX) PEACE SUPPORT. |
More than 150 personnel from these countries participated in the two-week event. Experienced senior officials from the UN and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) also participated in the exercise to give it the flavor of a modern-day peace operation.
The exercise involved planning and executing a UN Chapter VI Peacekeeping Operation in a fictitious country beset by civil war. The format for developing and conducting the CPX used the latest information technology tools and game simulation for planning and plotting the various exercise moves. Conducted at the operational and tactical levels, the exercise involved a multinational force HQ, four infantry battalion HQs, and a logistics battalion HQ.
The PKO CPX objectives were:
• To promote regional and multilateral cooperation.
• Increase interoperability among participant armed forces, civil police, the UN and NGOs.
• Enhance readiness of participant forces to plan and conduct PKO.
• Introduce principles of simulation gaming in a PKO environment.
The CPX occurred over a period of 12 days from 12 to 22 June 2001. Lt. Gen. E. P. Smith, Commanding General, USARPAC, gave the opening address. Events for the initial three days included various seminars and country presentations on different facets of a modern day PKO, including experiences of different contingents in the actual conduct of operations. Participants appreciated these initial seminars and presentations that helped every one understand the complexity of a PKO.
The exercise began when the Force HQ received its instructions for deploying a UN Peacekeeping Force in the form of a Mission Mandate approved by the UN Security Council, plus Mission Guidelines, Rules of Engagement, and UN SOPs for PKO. The Force HQ was given two days to plan and prepare its operation order for issue to the battalion HQs and other players in the CPX.
Lt. Col. Birender Singh Dhanoa, Indian Army, is a General Staff Officer Grade 1 in the UN Cell at Indian Army Headquarters, New Delhi, India. Maj. Brian K. Hedrick, USA, is the Program Manager for South Asia and the Indian Ocean, G5, International Military Affairs Division, HQ, U.S. Army, Pacific, Fort Shafter, Hawaii.
 .....  .....  |