MCAST Command Trains Royal Cambodian Navy

Courtesy Photo | Sailors from the Royal Cambodian Navy review training materials provided by the Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command Mobile Training Team in preparation for a classroom lecture. The training materials were translated into and printed in the Khmer language to enhance the RCN learning experience. The MCAST Command MTT deployed to Ream Naval Base earlier this year to deliver training to over 250 RCN sailors in preparation for the accession of the first class of new recruits since 1993.  

JOINT EXPEDITIONARY BASE LITTLE CREEK-FORT STORY, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES

11.09.2010

Courtesy Story

Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command

By Lt. Gustav Hein

JOINT EXPEDITIONARY BASE LITTLE CREEK-FORT STORY, Va. - Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command recently sent a mobile training team to Cambodia to provide critical leadership training and assist in the implementation of a training management system for the Royal Cambodian Navy’s first class of new recruits since 1993. The MTT, which comprised two U.S. Navy Reserve sailors who are also police officers, spent 68 days in the Southeast Asian country working closely with the RCN and the country’s National Committee on Maritime Security. The partnership addressed security concerns including border control, human trafficking, drug smuggling and black market operations.

Being composed of reserve sailors who are also police officers, Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Gavigan, Suffolk County Police Department patrol officer and crime scene technician, and Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Papa, New York City Police Department canine counter terrorism specialist, the MTT was ideally suited for Cambodia’s unique training environment.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the efforts of this training team,” said MCAST Command Commanding Officer Capt. Frank Hughlett. “It’s remarkable how much can be accomplished by two dedicated MCAST Command sailors. The military-to-military training programs implemented by Gavigan and Papa have significantly helped to improve the overall maritime capability of the Royal Cambodian Navy, as well as laying a strategic foundation for an enduring partnership between the U.S. and RCN sailors.”

MCAST Command’s unique skill sets enable its sailors to serve as subject matter experts and trainers for a broad spectrum of maritime related disciplines and Maritime Civil Affairs specialties. The MTT delivers maritime expeditionary core instruction in support of security cooperation and foreign internal defense missions. These efforts are directed at foreign military, civil and security personnel. MTT experts provide critical training to partner nations that enhance security partnerships and stability. These teams deliver training in small boat operations and tactics, maritime combat operations, anti-terrorism/force protection, maintenance and construction, and military professional development and leadership. Lessons are taught in host nation language and tailored to the specific needs of host nation security team.

The institutional challenges faced by Gavigan and Papa were many but the rewards great as their training program took shape and influenced how the undersized Cambodian navy operates. The RCN is responsible for patrolling hundreds of miles of coastline and inland waterways. Yet, despite recent donations of vessels and equipment from China and the U.S., the RCN remains relatively undermanned with only 2,800 personnel including Marine forces. Until the recent recruitment of 400 additional sailors, the RCN hadn’t had new hires since 1993. So, as the RCN continues to modernize its force to keep pace with emerging security threats such as piracy, transnational crime, smuggling and the protection of oil installations, the training provided by the MTT took on increased importance.

“Conducting the professional development and train-the-trainer courses for the RCN epitomizes the purpose for which the Mobile Training Teams from MCAST Command were created,” remarked Gavigan, a veteran security assistance trainer. “We provided training to RCN instructors, established performance measurements and then worked with the instructors to jointly train to about 400 new recruits.”

The role of the MTT program is essential to the professional development of the Cambodian sailors, enhancing their ability to manage the difficult responsibility of securing a coastline with limited resources.

“It’s so gratifying to work with the Cambodian Navy students,” said Gavigan. “The RCN sailors were eager to learn, asked great questions and appreciated the U.S. Navy’s help. In addition to the formal training provided by the MTT, we also built strong, cooperative relationships with the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia and officials from Japan and Australia in order to have support necessary for success.”

Maj. Wayne Turnbull, Office of Defense Cooperation, U.S. Embassy Cambodia, attributed the great deal of training mission success the MTT’s familiarity with the training program and the relationships built with the Cambodian Navy.

“We definitely accomplished the goals of our training program,” said Turnbull. “I think it was very beneficial to have trainers who had been here before and were familiar with the country and culture.”

When they weren’t training students in the classroom or conducting field exercises with the RCN, Gavigan and Papa spent most of their time working with the local community organizations. One such place was the Rainbow Foundation, an orphanage founded in February 2000 that houses 11 orphan boys ranging from 5 years old to 15 years old. Gavigan and Papa along with members of the RCN donated toys, food supplies, school supplies, backpacks, linens, medical supplies and participated in sports.

“The experiences working with the orphanage was one of the most fulfilling aspects of the entire deployment,” said Papa. “The visits to the orphanage made a great impact on me and I hope to return someday with the Navy to be able to help them further.”

MCAST Command, which was commissioned in 2009 as a merger of the former Maritime Civil Affairs group and Expeditionary Training Command, deploys sailors to help the Navy establish and enhance relations between military forces, governmental and non-governmental organizations and host nation populations. The command deploys two types of teams, MCA and MTT, to support exercises and overseas contingency operations that enable partner nations to establish and exercise maritime security and sovereignty. For more information contact LCDR Patrick Mallett, Command Public Affairs Officer at [phone] x369 or [e-mail]

• Date Taken: 11.09.2010
• Date Posted: 11.23.2010 09:48
• Story ID: 60713
• Location: JOINT EXPEDITIONARY BASE LITTLE CREEK-FORT STORY, VIRGINIA, US