Photo By Staff Sgt. Dean Johnson | Participants of the 2023 Nepal Disaster Response Exercise & Exchange (DREE) gather in...... read more read more
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KATHMANDU, Nepal-- In a valley surrounded by mountains, Kathmandu is lined with shops and vendors stalls filled with fruit, textiles, jewelry, metals and religious souvenirs. Throngs of locals and tourists alike flood the shopping districts, even more-so during various Hindu and Buddhist holidays or celebrations. Its streets are filled with scooters, motorbikes and small cars without a single traffic light, yet order is instilled with a constant stream of polite honks to indicate turn signals and passing lanes with traffic police at congested intersections to guide the steady flow of vehicles. Pedestrians cross this stream whenever an opening presents itself. Ancient temples coexist side-by-side with residential, religious and public buildings much like the various languages and ethnic groups that populate the city.
In contrast, a newer building stands among historical neighborhoods of Kathmandu. Inside a large conference room, of the Marriott Kathmandu, representatives of many countries and organizations bow their heads in silence during the 2023 Nepal Disaster Response Exercise & Exchange (DREE) "Unity of Effort VI" hosted in Nepal, to honor the victims and casualties of the Nov. 3, 2023 earthquake that hit the districts of Jajarkot and West Rukum, located in Karnali Province about 310 miles west of Kathmandu. The 5.6 magnitude earthquake killed more than 150 people and injured dozens more while thousands were left with damaged or destroyed homes.
The 2023 Nepal DREE is part of the continued multilateral engagement of the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) and the Government of Nepal (GON).
USARPAC conducts DREEs with multiple countries every year which is part of USARPAC’s Pacific Resilience series of engagements. Canada, India, Maldives, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and U.K. came to Kathmandu to observe and participate in the Nepal DREE to explore the possibility of continuing, increasing or starting their own exercise to enhance interoperability with international partners.
The Nepal DREE was scheduled for Nov. 6 – 10, 2023, in Kathmandu and Chitwan and is currently composed of Expert Academic Discussions (EAD), a combined discussion-based Table-Top Exercises (TTX), a Field Technical Exercise (FTX) and multilateral demonstrations.
The DREE scenario focused on a major earthquake and multi-hazard event centered in the city of Kathmandu to test first responder’s capabilities, civil-military coordination and the GON's ability to coordinate humanitarian assistance from a variety of institutions and countries. The DREE also serves as an opportunity for the GON to identify gaps, shortfalls, and challenges while familiarizing the GON with stakeholders, coordinate current and future requirements and implement regular exercise procedures.
Addressing the recent earthquake, Nepali Army Brig. Gen. Rabindra Khatri said, "The response from the Government of Nepal, it was very effective and the Nepal Army works under the Government of Nepal during disasters. The earthquake struck in the middle of the night and the troops deployed in those areas within an hour on the spot to support search and rescue of the victims; by the morning after four-to-six hours, everything was on-actions."
The first two days of the DREE are entirely devoted to the Expert Academic Discussions which gives participants from multiple countries and organizations an understanding of the existing disaster response techniques and modality. The EAD's also provide a foundation of knowledge that covers national preparedness and response capacity, by the effective management of regional and international humanitarian response.
Sean Austin, a consultant for the Institute for Security Governance (ISG) said, "The DREE is designed to engage foreign partners, especially across this region, on promoting resiliency in responding to disasters. So we talk about best practices in international response, domestic coordination and we talk through some tried-and-true measures on how to engage the international community to obtain extra resources during a crisis."
During the Table-Top Exercises, DREE participants are placed into groups and asked to evaluate a problem set to identify potential civil-military solutions. These discussions help build upon and maintain existing partner nation capacity and enhance the U.S. government’s readiness and preparedness to provide aid for all hazards, when requested by civilian or other military authorities. For example, military members, leaders and representatives from multiple countries collaborated on the best techniques for the preparation and execution of air field operations and air traffic control during a national disaster.
After a full day of transit, the final day consists of a culminating Field Technical Exercise in which military members and emergency service personnel showcase the skills that were honed within a few days of working with each other during the course of the exercise.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Michael Sarro, assigned to USARPAC, said, "I enjoyed the FTX portion, I thought it was well-rehearsed, well-run, very professional in displaying their [Nepal] capabilities while conducting these activities. The Swift Water Search and Rescue, the Firefighting scenario, the MASSCAL [Mass Casualty], were truly first-class in their efforts; just showing other militaries and civilian agencies how capable they [Nepal] are in having to respond [to disasters]."
Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief programs conducted by the U.S. and participants from other countries throughout the region during the Nepal DREE demonstrate a mutual commitment to support humanitarian and security interests of allies and partner nations. As a stabilizing regional presence, it is important to strengthen capacity to respond to regional challenges, provide humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and support long-term regional peace.
"We run the DREE program for USARPAC," Sarro said, "we can continue to do these programs with the Nepalese and other countries in the region. USARPAC has the capability to fund and work in partnership with that host nation to help build this type of event. The 2023 Nepal DREE was Nepalese coordinated and planned. It's a great opportunity to help them [Nepal] along and give them a platform to conduct this exercise and manage through their own procedures and processes to help further build their capabilities."
The United States is a reliable, capable, and responsive partner and is committed to supporting Nepal in its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparation, response and recovery efforts.
| Date Taken: | 11.29.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.01.2023 13:11 |
| Story ID: | 458748 |
| Location: | KATHMANDU, NP |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, USARPAC’s “Unity of Effort” continues in Nepal, by SSG Dean Johnson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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