CASI executes "Collaborative Disaster Preparedness" workshop in Da Nang, Vietnam - 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 international disaster relief coordination. The August 18-20, 2015 event entitled Collaborative Disaster Preparedness: US, Vietnam, and Regional Experience attracted US service members and Vietnamese military officials. Workshop speakers represented the following organizations and agencies, many of which were also collaborating stakeholders:

• Office of Defense Cooperation, Hanoi
• Oregon National Guard State Partnership Program
• Center for Excellence
• Vietnam National Committee for Search and Rescue
• US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
• Plan International
• The III Marine Expeditionary Force

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

The US Navy’s Pacific Partnership 2015 provided the high-profile setting for this two-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 Tien Sa Port, Da Nang, and included a ship tour.