Operating an excavator, bulldozer or backhoe did not come naturally to Private Ryan Herdhika, a motorcycle enthusiast and soldier in the 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion of the Indonesian Army. But he just passed his heavy engineering equipment test and next month will be deployed to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) as part of an Indonesian peacekeeping force there.
“This will be my first time abroad, and I am proud that my first trip is as a UN peacekeeper, not as a tourist.” Police Chief Herdhika said while riding a motorcycle class student to practice how to level up. on the ground in a training range in Sentul, at the vast peacekeeping center of the Indonesian military.
With nearly 2,700 troops on active duty in seven UN peace missions, Indonesia is the eighth largest contributor to global peacekeeping operations.
Firm foundations for a fragile peace process
Under the UN Triangle Partnership Program (TPP) – a collection of countries that provide trainers and resources, and countries that contribute militaries that deploy peacekeeping missions – military engineers has extensive experience operating heavy engineering equipment in peacekeeping missions of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) training 20 Indonesian soldiers.
Upon completion of the training, Indonesian Armed Forces personnel will use their skills to help build and repair the UN mission and host country’s infrastructure, including routes supply lines and camps, and support national recovery efforts from natural disasters in the Central African Republic. MINUSCA has been in the country since 2014, with a mission to protect civilians and support the fragile peace process and transitional government.
“It was a very difficult course, having to learn how to use a variety of equipment in just nine weeks,” said Lt. Col. Tsuyoshi Toyoda, JGSDF Training Team Leader. “The trainees worked hard, passed the test, and were ready to go.”
Although there are commercial instructors available to teach these skills in civilian settings, the complexity of UN peacekeeping operations requires instructors with peacekeeping experience.
Colonel Herman Harnas, Director of International Cooperation at the Indonesian Armed Forces Peacekeeping Center said: “In an ordinary construction site, operators specialize in one type of equipment, but here it is. We need soldiers to learn and operate six types of machines.” “In a peacekeeping situation, you also don’t qualify to have your own staff to maintain vehicles – so soldiers need to learn that too.”
This is the first time such a training course has been held in Indonesia, although similar courses have been held in Brazil, Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, Uganda and Vietnam, also important contributors. in UN peacekeeping efforts.
Enhancing the readiness and effectiveness of peacekeeping missions is at the core of TPP communications trends. But the job of a peacekeeping engineer serving in United Nations missions requires more than specialized technical knowledge, and the TPP reflects the harsh realities of the peacekeeping environment.
“Our soldiers also learned discipline and the importance of following protocols, which is especially important in emergency situations, when they need to act quickly,” said Colonel Harnas. “Soldiers can now deploy to MINUSCA, one of the most complex UN peace operations.”
A specific skill set
Mr. Rick Martin, Director of Special Operations at the United Nations Operations Support Department in New York, is committed to continuing to strengthen the technical, medical and technological capabilities of the peacekeepers in uniform. dress.
“As we face new operational challenges in UN peacekeeping operations, units with high-quality capabilities in engineering and other key capacity areas will need to continue to be an area of priority if we are to close the capacity gap and improve the performance of UN peacekeeping operations.” he added.
Next year, the United Nations and Japanese trainers will return to Sentul for a trainer training session, this time to teach trainers about future equipment from militaries across the region, contributors to peacekeeping. By then, Sheriff Herdhika will operate the technical equipment in the Central African Republic. “But after I return, I hope to be able to pass on my knowledge and experience to my peacekeeping colleagues in the future,” he said.
