Home - Defense Security Cooperation University

Announcing the latest ISG Heron – a quarterly newsletter highlighting our work in Security Cooperation and Institutional Capacity Building as well as the people who contribute to this important mission. 

In this issue, ISG:    

•  Spotlights a successful senior leader delegation visit to ISG & DRMI.

• Welcomes seven new outstanding Regional Advising and Functional Experts.

• Profiles the expansion of security governance in Sri Lanka. 

• Explores the pivotal role of the U.S.-Philippines Bilateral Strategic Dialog in regional security. 

• Offers a standing ovation to Africa Regional Program Lead, Dr. Whitney Grespin.

• Interviews Director Ian Wexler on his dual engagements in the Philippines.

Congratulations to the latest cohort of participants of the National Resilience for Defense & Security course. This course aims to equip participants with knowledge and skills to develop national resilience frameworks that can improve national and collective security in the face of complex threats and hazards, including large scale disasters, domestic crises, and irregular or hybrid warfare.

The course emphasized planning considerations and capabilities requirements for countering full-spectrum threats and hazards that target the civil population and critical infrastructure and services. It explored government coordination with the civil and private sectors, reflecting the interconnected and interdependent nature of defense and security requirements.

ISG’s Peacekeeping and Exercises (PKX) Team recently concluded its support to Exercise Shanti Prayas IV – a Multinational Peacekeeping Exercise co-hosted by the Nepali Army and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command at the Birendra Peace Operations Training Centre (BPOTC) in Panchkhal, Nepal from February 20 – March 4, 2024.

This exercise, hosted rotationally between regional US partners, is the largest annual Peacekeeping exercise in the world annual exercises and designed to support peacekeeping operations. Participants included combined service members from 19 countries as well as a series of high-ranking dignitaries.

Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) is an art more than a science. From a definitional standpoint, it encompasses Security Cooperation activities that directly support partner nation efforts to improve security sector governance and core management competencies needed to achieve shared security objectives.

From a practical standpoint, it involves a myriad of soft skills combined with a deep knowledge base to arrive at a strategically driven, problem focused, partner centric plan to build partner capacity responsibly and sustainably. 

Some of those soft skills may include relationship and trust building; agility and adaptive thinking; patience and pacing; active listening; strong verbal communications and an ability to adapt to non-native English communication; awareness of non-verbal and culture-specific cues; and iterative thinking beyond best practices (nimble tailoring).

The Institute for Security Governance – in cooperation with U.S. Embassy Panama – led its fifth strategic planning workshop with Panama’s Ministry of Public Security (MINSEG). A 40-person partner working group comprised of members from each of MINSEG’s four service-like operational organizations (estamentos) briefed the Minister of Public Security and the Directors General of the partner security services on progress in developing the first-ever MINSEG-level Joint Operating Concept. A new Panamanian Joint Operating Concept would provide a common approach to conducting operations across various domains (land, sea, air, etc.) and among different military services.

DSCU’s Institute for Security Governance recently concluded the resident course: PRACTICAL CYBER IMPLEMENTATION in Monterey, California. This course explores policies and practices necessary to protect and defend data, networks, systems, and platforms essential for military and security organizations and that underpin economic, social, governmental, and political activity in society. Instructors highlight the importance of civilian control throughout the cyber and MoD staff directorates, effective cybersecurity as a national security imperative, and introduce participants to cyber mission assurance, explore barriers to effective policy and practical implementation, and consider the latest practices and innovations for building cyber resilience.

Congratulations to the latest cohort of International Defense Acquisition Resource Management (IDARM) “Principles of Defense Acquisition Management” graduates. This course provides a theoretical and practical examination of the underlying concepts, fundamentals, and philosophies of the international defense acquisition management process.

Participants examined the complete defense acquisition life cycle from planning through equipment disposal. The course addresses management characteristics and competencies, control policies and techniques, systems analysis methods, risk management, and functional area concerns. International best practices are discussed along with implementation-related challenges and lessons learned.

In his new book review for Defense & Security Analysis, Scott Woodruff Lyons – ISG Acting Senior Principal for Regional Advising – offers insight into János Besenyő’s Darfur Peacekeepers: The African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (AMIS) from the Perspective of a Hungarian Military Advisor (L’Harmattan, 2021). Besenyő’s work delves into the intricacies of the African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur, offering a firsthand account from the perspective of a Hungarian logistics officer. Covering a pivotal period in 2006, Besenyő provides a comprehensive examination of the tumultuous AMIS (“Mission”) expansion during this time.

The Institute for Security Governance recently conducted a workshop with colleagues from the Bulgarian Air Force in Sofia, Bulgaria. This collaborative event focused on doctrine development and operational guidance for processes and programs supporting NATO interoperable air operations in preparation for the arrival of new F-16 aircraft. ISG looks forward to continued cooperation in the future with the Bulgarian Air Force counterparts.

Over the course of two-days, Ukrainian participants from 14 ministries and government agencies engaged in a workshop to advance the government of Ukraine's efforts to create a culture of preparedness, empower communities, and promote resilience against all threats and hazards. 

Developed in support of Ukraine's national resilience agenda, this resilience workshop featured expert exchanges with senior representatives from DSCU’s Institute for Security Governance, U.S. Embassy – Kyiv’s Office of Defense Cooperation, Sweden's Civil Contingency Agency, and Ukraine’s Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.

An Institute for Security Governance expert participated in the 3rd Annual Space Conference of the Americas. Hosted at U.S. Southern Command, the event brought together Department of Defense space leaders and counterparts from Western Hemisphere nations to strengthen space partnerships to benefit the region. ISG provided a key presentation on Institutional Capacity Building, contributing towards shared objectives in the dynamic space domain.

During a recent engagement, experts from the Institute for Security Governance’s Africa Regional Advising Team worked with the European Union Training Mission - Somalia (EUTM-S) Mission Force Commander and the Head of Advisory Team in Mogadishu to address respective capacity building efforts aimed at enhancing coordination and support of the Somali Ministry of Defense and Somali National Armed Forces.