Comunicado de Prensa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Costa Rica Leads the Way as Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarias Gets Underway
By Stuart G.R. Warner, Public Affairs Office, U.S. Army South, Fort Sam Houston, Texas
San José, Costa Rica Press Release #2009041811, April 18, 2009
(photos by Stuart G.R. Warner, U.S. Army South)
San José- April 18, 2009
San Jose – Costa Rica: Officials from Costa Rica’s National Emergency Commission (CNE) are leading the way as this year’s Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarias (FAHUM) regional exercise gets underway here.
Vanessa Rosales-Ardón, the newly appointed president of CNE; and U.S. Coast Guard Commander Mark Camacho, Chief, U.S. Office of the Defense Representative, U.S. Embassy, Costa Rica; met Friday sign the exercise memorandum of understanding.
During the signing ceremony, Camacho said, “FAHUM is a multinational exercise that demonstrates the commitment of the U.S. government to build enduring partnerships with Costa Rica and other valued partner countries in the region.”
Rosales-Ardón explained that there are two phases of the exercise that will be conducted in Costa Rica. The first phase is an emergency simulation of a Pandemic influenza, to test the CNE’s staff’s abilities to conduct local and international emergency response. The second phase is a field exercises where CNE officials can evaluate and improve emergency response at the local, national, and international levels.
FAHUM 2009 is a collaborative event that involves first responders and regional partner nation participants. As a multi-staged event, it will combine a command post exercise; field training at multiple simulated “disaster site” locations, to be conducted between civilian and military disaster responders in Antigua, Costa Rica, Grenada and Honduras.
CNE officials kick started FAHUM last week with a successful press conference here with partners from the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Southern Command. During the week of April 20, CNE plans to welcome members of the New Mexico National Guard, and a group of rescue workers from the National Civil Protection System of Panama (SINAPROC), as these newly arrivals join U.S. officials who have already arrived, to begin phase I & II activities here.
The New Mexico National Guardsmen are scheduled to bring medical supplies aboard their aircraft. The Panamanian rescue workers will conduct rescue operations with members of CNE during the Costa Rica portion of the FAHUM exercise. Sigifredo Pérez, CNE Chief of Operations, explained that CNE is looking forward to working in the lead, as officials work side-by-side with military and civilian partners from U.S. Southern Command; U.S. Army South; the New Mexico National Guard; U.S. Air Force South; members of SINAPROC; and international observers from Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.
During the Pandemic influenza simulation, a total of 25-countries will participate in this event, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panamá, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vicente and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Turks and Caicos, and Costa Rica.
Pérez explained that during the phase II, the government of Costa Rica will request international aid after declaring a natural disaster as a result of excessive flooding in the Quepos and Parrita regions. Responding to the plea for help, the plan is for the U.S. Ambassador to submit a disaster declaration and to request disaster assistance for immediate response, using emergency channels.
Pérez added, “The follow-on activities will provide CNE with opportunities to evaluate search and rescue procedures, using international assistance standards, while working with a host of partner organizations.” (photo gallery)
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