33 civilian experts train alongside military on UK’s largest exercise
33 civilian experts, ranging from police officers to senior civil servants have returned from two weeks training alongside the military, to prepare them for deployment to conflict-affected countries such as Afghanistan.
Undeterred by the threat of Cornish floods, the civilians lived and worked alongside their military counterparts as part of the UK’s largest biennial civilian-military exercise, called Joint Focus 10.
Deployed to the exercise by the Stabilisation Unit and the Department for International Development (DFID), the civilians played key roles such as the Ambassador, embassy officials and planners, creating an environment that was as realistic as possible to the situation they might find on the ground in a conflict zone.
Run by the military’s Permanent Joint Headquarters, the aim of the exercise is to give both civilians and the military the chance to practice working together before they are deployed.
Dr Babu Rahman, head of the Stabilisation Unit’s planning and countries team, explained how the exercise has helped the UK Government prepare for future challenges:
"Like anything else, making sure that civilian-military working is effective requires practice. Joint Focus 10 exercise gave us the chance to do exactly this and was a real success.
“By the end, it was obvious to all how the planning, advice and liaison provided pulled together all the different parts involved in an engagement: diplomatic, development, police and military.”
Getting civilians and the military to plan and work closely together is all part of the Government’s drive for an integrated approach, so that the UK is better equipped to respond to security threats overseas.
Dr Rahman added that the civilian contribution was warmly received by military colleagues:
“Even high pressure and austere conditions didn’t affect the quality and impact of the work. Feedback from our military colleagues, who do this kind thing regularly and for real, was extremely positive.”