The service members here who are participating in Gema Bhakti -- Indonesian
for "echo of good deeds" -- are doing their part to ensure the
exercise lives up to its name.
Gema Bhakti is a 10-day bilateral joint exercise that joins U.S.
service members and the Indonesian armed forces -- the Tentara Nasional Indonesia
-- and has them work through a humanitarian-assistance and disaster-relief
scenario.
The current iteration of the exercise simulates the effects of an earthquake.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Jodi Verkleir, 36th Medical Support Squadron
Readiness Flight commander and medical planner participant, said the experience
she is gaining is invaluable.
"I'm grateful to receive this opportunity to interact with not
only our sister services but our gracious hosts from the TNI," said
Verkleir. "We are able to utilize each other's experiences and expertise
to plan and work through the scenario."
She said the role of a medical planner is to coordinate medical
relief efforts with military units, as well as other civilian organizations to
avoid duplication of efforts. "The same goes for other planning functions,
as the primary objective would be to ensure humanitarian relief is received to
those in need," she said.
Four
Lanes of Effort
The operational-level staff exercise focuses on four lanes of
effort: the multinational coordination center; rules of engagement; humanitarian
operations and civil-military coordination; and urban search and rescue. Each
lane maintains the same overall objective, which is to coordinate and practice
how the U.S. and Indonesia would assist another country after a natural
disaster.
Verkleir said she began her discussions with the multinational
coordination center, where she engaged in dialogue with TNI partners on the
roles and responsibilities of the center during a humanitarian relief effort.
Responders assigned to a multinational coordination center facilitate
coordination and cooperation of foreign military forces with the affected
nation to support the assistance and relief missions.
After the coordination center, Verkleir said she explored the rules
of engagement lane, where she collaborated and practiced the skills necessary
to identify, analyze, and address the legal planning considerations inherent to
the response efforts.
"Knowing ROE in [humanitarian-assistance and disaster-relief]
missions is not just for the lawyers," said Verkleir. "It's important
to understand the legalities with every mission conducted."
Verkleir said she will proceed through the other lanes during the
rest of the exercise and she plans to learn about the significance of interaction
between civilian and military agencies in a humanitarian situation and
prioritization of requirements during rescue operations.