US PACOM deputy commander pays Nepal a visit for peacekeeping exercise

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Cory Grogan | Lt. Gen. Thomas L. Conant, deputy commander of U.S. Pacific Command, is presented with a gift during a visit to Shanti Prayas-2 peacekeeping training at Birendra Peace Operations Training Center in Panchkhal, Nepal. Shanti Prayas-2 is a multinational partnership exercise designed to increase the number of capable military troops and formed police units available for United Nations deployments. The two-week training exercise, hosted by the Nepalese Army, is organized by the United Nations, U.S. State Department, and U.S. Pacific Command's Global Peace Operations Initiative. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Cory Grogan, 115 Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)  

PANCHKHAL, NEPAL

03.26.2013

Story by Sgt. Cory Grogan 

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command         

By Sgt. Cory Grogan
115 Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

PANCHKHAL, Nepal - Lt. Gen. Thomas L. Conant, deputy commander, U.S. Pacific Command visited the Birendra Peace Operations Training Center for a multinational partnership exercise called Shanti Prayas-2, designed to train peacekeepers and sustain peacekeeping proficiency.

The Nepal-hosted and U.S.-sponsored multinational exercise, from March 25 to April 7, is designed to train the Nepal Army and other Global Peace Operations Initiative partner nations prior to deployment to United Nations peacekeeping missions.

“This is based on real world situations,” Conant said. “We have 23 countries and they’ll be somewhere in the world working together, so a realistic scenario with credible trainers and credible evaluations is everything.”

The field training portion of the exercise has 11 platoons working to reinforce and improve tactical and multinational interoperability. Countries with platoons represented in the field training are Nepal (two platoons), Bangladesh, Cambodia, Japan, Indonesia, Jordan (with a Kazakhstan squad embedded), Mongolia, Philippines, Rwanda and Paraguay.

Participants are receiving training in what is referred to as lanes, which comprise of cordon and search, checkpoint operations, convoy operations, setting up a UN designated site, humanitarian distribution, and dismounted patrols.

Conant praised Nepal saying the nation has done a magnificent job organizing the lanes training and preparing instructors while setting a high standard for future GPOI training exercises.

“I’m very pleased with what I’m seeing. The investment for the United States Pacific Command, who helped sponsor this, is well worth our investment,” he said.

• Date Taken: 03.26.2013
• Date Posted: 03.29.2013 19:40
• Story ID: 104341
• Location: PANCHKHAL, NP