An Cosantóir

Vox Pops two peacekeepers! Day two was a different story. The UNTSI team had clearly debriefed the CIMIC students and talked about how to handle the media. Each team subsequently ap- pointed a designated media liaison officer, who in turn spoke to us very courteously, answered all our questions very politely, and made sure we didn't get in the way. Similar learning could be seen across the various encounters the CIMIC teams experienced as they tried to deal with escalating ten- sions and a rising number of incidents within their AOR. 'MissionPoint' was certainly presenting the CIMIC teams with opportunities to turn 'talk' into 'walk' as they prac- ticed the skills and guidance 1 CIMIC International had exposed them to over the previous fortnight. 1 CIMIC International very clearly gave course participants a lot to work with and to think about. As a first venture into bringing a comprehensive approach to bear on CIMIC training, UNTSI has also learned les- sons. "Future iterations of the course will build on the strengths of this first one," notes Lt Col Mick Dolan (Chief Instructor, UNTSI). "There will be a strong emphasis on the practical and tactical, and the various UN, EU and NATO doctrines will be explored further. We also will build-out the sce- narios of 'MissionPoint' so that they reflect even more accurately the challenges of working in this incredibly difficult but necessary area. Planning has already started for these, in fact." SINÉAD HARRIS, MDP STUDENT. I served with the US Peace Corps in Ethiopia and as part of my MA placement I spent three months with the Rwandan judicial system working with the international mis- sion there. The current module we are studying on the MDP is post-conflict reconcili- ation. Prior to this exercise we had a week in the classroom where we learned the different aspects of CIMIC and R2P in the humanitarian space. I was with the media team during the exercise and enjoyed acting as a journalist. It was interesting to see how military and civilian agencies respond to the media. With a media presence the situation can change very quickly as people do not know how to speak to, or contain, the media. The CIMIC teams quickly picked up that whatever they said could be quoted later. People were very nervous and unsure and this was very evident on the first day when we walked all over the CIMIC teams going wherever we wanted and talking to whoever we liked. However, they clearly discussed this that night because the next each CIMIC team had appointed a media liaison officer to answer our questions and contain our movements. It was good experience to be exposed to civil-military engagement and see how the two react to each other. THOMAS CAFFERY-OSWALD, MDP STUDENT. My mother is from Mayo and my father is a Swedish diplomat, so I spend my childhood travelling and living in different countries. Living in places like Zimbabwe, I developed an interest in pursuing a career in overseas development. As part of my placement in Rwanda I worked in commercial tea farming. Economic development is a crucial part of a country's, and region's, growth and stability. I was aide-de-camp for Capt Galvin and liaised with the different groups, seeing if they had any problems or if anything was needed. I also did a bit of role playing in which I was a local farmer whose sheep had been knocked down by a Norbatt truck. I also played a Raheen IDP who came in from Stranaheely after my house had burned down. As we hadn't much of an idea about CIMIC it was great for the MDP students to get this opportu- nity, as at some point we are going to be working in scenarios like these. We quickly learned that a small slip of the tongue can lead to people getting into serious trouble. You have to chose your words very carefully and know what is going on by using the formal channels and talking to the various agencies. It was very interesting to see how the military act around civilian agencies, not willing to give away too much information, and then the civilian actors arriving late, or not turning up at all, to briefings. MELAINE KERMARC, MDP STUDENT. We do not have a master's programme like this in France. The MDP course takes a very holistic approach to development and in Rwanda I worked with the conservation and development agencies. As part of this exercise I was a Raheen rebel and later a Raheen IDP. To be honest before this exercise I never really had a good impression of any military, or any under- standing for that matter. In the French context our interventions are generally in the post-colonial world and I had developed a negative opinion of the military. The exercise was very interesting, seeing all the different complexities working inside the military; the rank structures, the different offices, and how they work in achieving their goals. As 'a rebel' I had a front-line view of what was going on and the interaction between the civilian agencies and the military. Sometimes, when both turned up at a scene it was total confusion. A lot of the time they simply didn't know how to talk to each other. The military are used to giving orders, while the civilians were that little bit more relaxed. What really struck me then was the way we, the rebels, were spoken to at times. If I had been a real rebel I would have shot them! It was a great learning experience. www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE cimic course | 19

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