CCMR Prepares the 184 ESC for their Deployment to the Middle East and Afghanistan - Defense Security Cooperation University

CCMR conducted a seminar for the Mississippi Army National Guard’s 184th Expeditionary Sustainment Command (ESC) from the 29th to the30th of October 2018 at Camp Shelby to provide a socio-political, security and regional context for the Command’s logistics mission in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The Center brought together a diverse group of subject matter experts from academia, think tanks and US Army Central Command to offer multiple perspectives on the current situation in areas that the ESC will sustain, focusing specifically on Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Jordan, Afghanistan and Yemen. Regional and US scholars reviewed the complexities of conflicts in the region and considered the interests of regional and other external players in the area of operation. Most of the participants had several deployments in the region and the goal of the faculty was to help them gain a sense of how the region and operating theater had changed since their last deployment.

The seminar included a panel discussion and a question and answer session on expectations, roles and mechanisms for engaging U.S. partners in the region. “What are we doing differently from the last decade? How can we hope for different outcomes in the region?” one of the participants queried the instructors. “We are now explicitly working by, with and through our partners, and building their capacity to be responsible for their own security rather than directly stabilizing and engaging threats in region” one of the instructors pointed out.

“The objective is for participants to become aware of the complexity of the issues that our partners in the region are grappling with, and to leave the seminar with more questions than answers, that will, in turn, set the stage for nuanced and reflective engagements in the region” Mr. Bob Tomasovic, the Program Manager, indicated to the participants. The participants remain engaged and asked good questions throughout the program. Several of the soldiers 2 took the faculty to lunch to have more detailed discussions. This time is built into the program to facilitate one on one discussions.

Since 9/11, CCMR has educated thousands of active and National Guard leaders deploying in support of short and long-term engagement in the Middle East, Africa, Pacific and other regions around the world. The training is available to all deploying U.S. military units at the brigade, division and corps levels as well as to Combatant Commands.

To schedule a seminar for your unit/Command or to find out more about the CCMR regional educational program, please contact the Program Manager, Mr. Bob Tomasovic at (831) 238-1455, rstomaso@nps.edu or Dr. Vino Roy at (831) 578-7014, vrroy@nps.edu.