CASI conducts "Collaborative Disaster Preparedness and Response" workshop in Da Nang - Defense Security Cooperation University

DA NANG, VIETNAM - The Collaborative & Adaptive Security Initiative (CASI) of the Center for Civil-Military Relations recently concluded a workshop focused on disaster preparedness and response. The July 19-21, 2016 event entitled Collaborative Disaster Preparedness and Response attracted US and international service members and Vietnamese military and civilian officials. Workshop speakers represented the following organizations and agencies, many of which were also collaborating stakeholders:

• Pacific Partnership 2016
• Office of Defense Cooperation, Hanoi
• ASEAN AHA Center
• Center for Excellence
• Da Nang People’s Committee
• Vietnam National Committee for Search and Rescue
• Vietnam Disaster Management Center

Among the workshop’s primary objectives was to strengthen bonds between US, international and Vietnam military service members, and relationships among public, civil, and regional organizations. The workshop allowed participants to deepen their understanding of provincial, national, regional and international actors’ roles and responsibilities in the context of collaborative disaster response.

The US Navy’s Pacific Partnership 2016 provided the high-profile setting for this three-day CASI event. The Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region. The workshop also coincided with the USNS Mercy visit to Da Nang.