International Conflict Management Exercise 2009
From Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October personnel from across the Defence Academy supported the Director General Defence Academy, Deputy Commandant Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) and the Higher Command and Staff Course team from the College in hosting over 40 panellists and delegates from across Government and from overseas for the third International Conflict Management Exercise at Beckett House.
The aim of the Exercise was to bring together high-level (2- and 1-star) decision makers from across the UK government, including the MOD, FCO, DFID, Cabinet Office and Stabilisation Unit to exchange ideas surrounding conflict management, stabilisation and humanitarian intervention in an atmosphere that encourages networking and education. The annual Exercise is gaining increasing support from across Whitehall and this year there was a strong turn out with visitors from France, the principal partner for 2009, but also Brazil, Rwanda, Kenya, Botswana, UN DPKO New York and Ireland.
A Panel of experts was on hand to direct the progress of the exercise; Chaired by a good friend of the Academy, Sir Mike Aaronson, an international humanitarian advisor, it included other luminaries, not least Lt Gen Jasbir Lidder (Rtd.) a previous UN Force Commander in the Sudan and Caroline Wyatt, the BBC Defence Correspondent. The Exercise uses a scenario-based format to encourage discussion and debate, and seeks to exchange best practice with some of the non-governmental and foreign governmental organisations with which the UK might find itself working in the future.