As part of its preparation for being part of NATO’s Response Force (NRF) in 2013, HQ ARRC recently held a Disaster Relief Study Day. The aim of the day was to understand how the international community respond to natural disasters, and identify what role HQ ARRC might have should the NRF be deployed to assist with an international relief effort.
The Study Day also enabled the senior leadership and staff of HQ ARRC to start thinking, planning and acting
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David Fortna, CIVMIL Planning and
Support Section at NATO HQ, speaks
to ARRC staff. |
early about what relationship building needs to take place; what additional staff training is required and what contingency planning it needs to accomplish prior to NRF 2013.
Representatives from the following organisations were involved with the day: London School of Economics, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the British Red Cross, OXFAM and NATO Headquarters. The former Deputy Chief of Staff Operations of the Spanish-led NATO Rapid Deployable Corps (NRDC-Sp), which deployed in 2005 as the NRF Land Component Command (LCC) to assist with the international relief effort following the
Pakistan earthquake, gave a presentation on the lessons that could be learnt for any potential deployment.
The study day confirmed the importance of HQ ARRC being "Humanitarian Aware” and understanding how it, in the event of natural disaster, can best support the international effort. Most speakers made clear that a good starting point was to be cognisant of the protocols and guidelines governing disaster relief – such as the Oslo Guidelines – under which the international community operates. It was agreed that training days, such as this one, were an excellent way to get better acquainted with the roles and capabilities of one another. The study day also helped to build HQ ARRC’s ‘Network of Experts’ which will be essential should the headquarters deploy as part of NRF 2013.
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Representatives from several UN and other non-governmental
agencies, conduct a panel discussion |
The experiences and lessons learned from NRDC-Sp also highlighted the kinds of capabilities and assets that the NRF might be asked to provide. These could range from the provision of engineers and civil/military cooperation assets to assisting with the physical delivery of aid utilising military helicopters and transport assets.
The study day was an important part of the process of educating HQ ARRC on the likely challenges it will face when it assumes its role on NRF 2013. The wide ranging scope of the potential roles of the NRF mean that it essential that the headquarters has a broad understanding of the organisations who may also be involved. The Disaster Relief study day was the first in a series of training days aimed at ensuring this happens.