US army asked to support UPDF in civil military operations

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Chief of Civil-Military Coordination (CIMIC), Brig. Innocent Oula has asked the United States Army to extend more civil-military trainings to UPDF officers.

Oula said that the UPDF needs a training in civil-military operations and disaster management which will boost the force’s capability to extend the same to its troops handling peace support operations.

Oula was speaking at the closure of a one week United States Army funded CIMIC training at the Uganda rapid deployment capability centre (URDCC) in Jinja on Saturday.

The US army, through the civil operations university trained 17 UPDF officers in civil-military coordination course class II, which is aimed at guiding them on how to deal with the civilians during insurgencies.

The officers from different UPDF units underwent a course comprising of media relations, stability operations, dealing with non-governmental organizations and international agencies during peace support operations, coordination with the civilian sector during military operations and understanding the perception of the civilian population.

Oula challenged the army to forge a good working relationship with the civil population. He said that if the army earns the trust of the civilians, they will be successful in their activities.

The US Army team leader, Rt. Col. Ken La Voy said that they will be conducting a second training in July to enable the trained officers conduct internal CIMIC activities.

Lt. Col. Baker Katuramo, a participant says that, CIMIC courses are essential in planning the human terrain during insurgencies.

“For us the men in uniform, it is hard to know our next deployment but, in case you’re deployed as a liaison officer in war-torn areas, CIMIC courses can help you to analyse the stretch of the insurgency and how to counter it with the aid of the civilian population,” he said.

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