OSCE Office in Tajikistan supports the development of training management and instruction skills in dealing with explosive hazards

A four-day seminar organized by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan on explosive hazards training management concluded at the Office’s premises in Dushanbe on 13 May 2017.

Twelve training managers and instructors working in explosive hazards reduction and response at the national armed forces, national mine action co-ordination authorities as well as supporting agencies from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and the Unites States, took part in the training course.

“The seminar focuses on current training management principles and practices and their application in the explosive ordnance disposal training cycle,” said Fabio Piana, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan. “The OSCE Office, in the capacity of training manager, will continue to provide the platform that enables the transfer of relevant Mine Action competencies at the individual, collective or institutional levels.”

Lead Instructor, Sergeant First Class Mike Wells of the United States Army Central (USARCENT), said: “A common understanding and delivery of training materials and teaching methods among Central Asian military specialists contributes to the standardization of training and inter-operability of their specialists and units, for example, in joint military exercises and peace-keeping operations.”

The seminar, financed by the United States State Department’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, is a continuation of the OSCE Office-facilitated Explosive Ordnance Disposal training cycle for 2017. The latter is being carried out in training partnership with USARCENT, hosted by Tajikistan’s Defence Ministry and certified by the Tajikistan National Mine Action Centre.

Since 2009, the OSCE has been supporting the development of co-operative mechanisms on a technical level among states in Central Asia and Afghanistan to address concerns and challenges stemming from explosive hazards.