DISASTER RESPONSE EXERCISE AND EXCHANGE (DREE) - Defense Security Cooperation University

An Institute for Security Governance (ISG) team traveled to Dhaka, Bangladesh in late October to participate in the 10th Annual Disaster Response Exercise and Exchange (DREE) in support of U.S. Army Pacific, U.S. Embassy Dhaka, the Bangladesh Armed Forces Division, and the Bangladeshi Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief. The event gathered approximately 300 participants from 23 countries for three days of presentations, expert exchanges, and a tabletop exercise. The purpose of the exercise was to validate and finalize the draft Bangladesh Disaster Incident Management Team (DIMT) Guideline.

Building upon the 10-year history of the Bangladesh DREE program, the 2021 theme was Resilience Through Preparedness. Presentations and moderated panel sessions covered a range of topics from Bangladesh disaster management progress and experiences to international practices of Australia, Japan, Turkey, UK, the UN World Food Program, and others including discussion on lessons learned and other considerations from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The tabletop exercise portion centered on a catastrophic earthquake scenario during a global pandemic, creating a “dual-disaster” scenario. Participants were organized across 13 functional cells in accordance with the draft DIMT Guideline.