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Members of a Bangladesh Army band entertain delegates to the seminar. |
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Finally, the participants had to develop a training concept to prepare forces for introduction into the peacekeeping operation.
The participants
were also treated to a number of off-site activities to enhance their
learning experience. Among these events were a river cruise on a Landing
Craft Tank belonging to the Bangladesh Army and a visit to the Ansar (a
Bengali word roughly equivalent to ‘volunteer’) and Village
Defense Party Academy, a unique, community-based, social development-focused,
government organization in Bangladesh. However, the highlight of the off-site
activities was the Bangladesh Peacekeeping Operations Training Center.
Here, the participants were able to observe a unit conducting lane training
using many techniques adopted from the Multinational Peacekeeping training
conducted in Nepal in January 2000 (see Summer 2000 Asia-Pacific Defense
Forum).
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Lt. Gen. Mustafizur Rahman presents a seminar certificate to Mr. Vinod Fonia, Director (UNP), Ministry of External Affairs, India, at closing ceremonies. U.S. Maj. Gen. Curtis Loop looks on.
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The seminar was closed with speeches from Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim, Bangladesh Foreign Minister; LTG Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh Chief of Army Staff; and MG Curtis Loop, U.S. Army, Pacific.
Throughout the seminar-game, the participants developed a much greater understanding of the many difficulties faced when piecing together a multinational and multi-organizational force, and then training that force to conduct a peacekeeping operation. These lessons will be used in future peacekeeping related exercises and training events conducted within the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility.
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