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Liveblogging: Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal Exercise 07-1
On Jan. 13 , U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) began the latest iteration of the Unified Endeavor Mission Rehearsal Exercise series to prepare servicemembers from the U.S. Navy's Standing Navy Joint Command Element for deployment to nations in the Horn of Africa. USJFCOM's Robert Pursell liveblogged all day Jan. 17 directly from the exercise at the Joint Warfighting Center in Suffolk, Va.
By Robert Pursell
USJFCOM Public Affairs
(SUFFOLK, Va. - Jan. 17, 2007) -- 7:30 a.m. – I woke up this morning, got ready and headed off to Suffolk. I bypassed picking up some coffee and headed immediately here.
As an outsider coming in, this can be a bit overwhelming, especially when you don't wake up with some coffee. I arrive and the room I'm assigned to is large and contains three large projection screens, televisions scattered throughout, a bunch of manned desktop computers and personnel greeting each other, making preparations and enjoying their favorite morning beverage as they're waiting for the go-ahead to begin.
What's going on here is U.S. Joint Forces Command's (USJFCOM) Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa Mission Rehearsal Exercise 07-1 (CJTF-HOA MRX 07-1). The week long experiment takes place in several rooms similar to the one I'm in, throughout the Joint Warfighting Center in Suffolk, Va.
Its purpose to train the Standing Navy Joint Command Element Commander (SNJCE), staff, and individual augmentees (IA) to conduct joint operations within the Horn of Africa Joint Operational Area.
It looks like things are getting underway. I'm going to go do some investigating to find out some specifics, and if I have a chance, find some java.
 8:59 a.m. – I'm back. There are a lot of things going on here but basically what they've been doing here is running a master list of scenarios using a common operational picture.
The room I'm stationed at is the main room where the scenarios come from. Then there is another room for the training itself.
The folks in the training room don't have access to everything that's going on in here simply because they're supposed to figure some of it out on their own.
As I mentioned earlier, there are three large projection screens here. The first one shows the Master Scenario Events List (MSEL), a database that tracks each scenario and gives its status. The second screen shows the common operational picture. Finally, the last one shows the scenario itself.
In the center of the room lies the "Snake Pit." This is an elevated stage where the highest ranking officials direct the exercise and coordinate to make sure everyone is on the same page. Surrounding the "Snake Pit" are sections divided up representing different organizations or agencies.
It looks like a new scenario is about to begin. I'm going to go check it out.
10:21 a.m. – The intent of the scenarios is to help to prepare trainees for deployment so they know what to expect once they hit the ground running.
The newest scenario involves heavy flooding in Ethiopia resulting in hundreds of deaths. The room fell quiet as a news report from the World News Network (WNN) explained what had happened on two of the three projection screens. WNN is a mock news network that USJFCOM uses to help train personnel.
Though it's fictional, it's very realistic. The news report actually showed a reporter "live" from Ethiopia and another from the Pentagon. It's very impressive.
As the news of the Ethiopian flood spreads over to the training room, trainees prepare to begin. As I mentioned, the trainees are members of the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa. Their job is to help prevent conflict, promote regional stability and protect Coalition interests in east Africa and Yemen.
They are trained to provide humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, consequence management, and civic action programs. In the Ethiopian flooding scenario, they can help in a number of ways including medical care, building medical clinics and sending supplies, vehicles or personnel.
In speaking with personnel who helped run the scenarios, I discovered that most of these scenarios are actually taken from real life instances and are recommended by personnel that are already stationed in HOA. I also want to point out that not every scenario is on the scale of the Ethiopian flood disaster. Many are small scenarios as well such as delivering food or medical supplies.
1:28 p.m. – Well, it seems like almost everyone is back from lunch, if they even took one at all. Experiment leaders met over lunch to discuss how things are going. I was given a personal tour of the area and you don't understand how much goes into all of this until you see it in person.
I was told there are approximately 100 people in the training audience for this experiment. That goes along with about 170 controllers.
To have the right people talking with each other and communicating effectively is no easy task. That also means connectivity for desktop computers, the televisions, and projection screens must be in check. If something goes down, that could really mess things up. So far things have run smoothly.
At 2 p.m., I'll be meeting with a member of the training audience to discuss their perspective on the experiment. For most of the day I've been on the controller side of things because the trainees have been so busy.
It should be interesting to hear what their side of things is. Be sure to tune in.
2:57 p.m. – Throughout this exercise, the scenarios help to prepare Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa for deployment so they know what to expect once they hit the ground running. It also represents an opportunity for personnel to work with each other.
I spoke to Air Force Maj. David "Mal" Malakoff, the incoming CJTF-HOA public affairs director, who not only confirmed the value of personnel being able to work together, but also gave me the training point of view.
He told me that so far the training has been great. They've packed in scenarios that would take a month in real time, into six days of training and things have gone on without a hitch.
He said the important thing to remember is that with the HOA, our forces are going into a sovereign nation at the request of that country's government. That means that we have to learn how to work inside of that countrys rules. Those are the kinds of things that are being rehearsed, such as when to call for interagency help or how many helicopters to send.
As for the Ethiopian flood scenario, I asked Malakoff what they would do. He said in the field things would already be ready to go based on the season and weather.They would stand by waiting for the word to go help. As soon as they got the go-ahead, they would organize how many food drops or medical supplies were needed, how many helicopters to help pull people from the water, and how many other intangibles would be needed to save lives.
4:15 p.m. – After returning from the training room, I had the opportunity to talk with Army Lt. Col. Mike O'Neil, chief controller of the joint exercise control group (JECG). He helps out in the "Snake Pit" and makes sure everything in the control room is running smoothly.
O'Neil said the exercise has gone well, especially when it comes to replicating. Along with the scenarios, JECG must also reproduce people and conditions. He's been impressed with them, having replicated ambassadors, the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA), the media and even Cental Command Commander Gen. Abizaid.
He said once experimentation ends tomorrow, leaders will meet to build an after action report on Friday. As for the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, he said the group has done well. They are scheduled to return back to the 2nd Fleet, where they're located and undergo some more training before being deployed.
The day has begun to wind down as the organization and agency leads prepare to meet up with the exercise controllers to discuss the results and the status of each scenario. These meetings will give the controllers a chance to see how far they've come and where they stand for tomorrow's final day of training.
Editor's note: That wraps up today's liveblog. Be sure to check out tomorrow's article which will give the views of senior leadership on how the exercise has gone.
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