United States and Mongolia Conduct 'Exercise Gobi Wolf' (CSL Issue Paper, Volume 5-09, June 2009)

摘要

Cooperation between the United States and Mongolia has developed dynamically since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1987. Today Mongolia and the United States share a growing and strong cooperative partnership based on shared values, a commitment to democracy and a free-market economy, and the global war against terrorism. To that end the two nations are partnering in several areas to expand expertise and training to Mongolia as it reconfigures its government from a Soviet-style bureaucracy to a more western, interagency-based structure. Longstanding challenges that historically and traditionally face Mongolia include many types of natural and manmade disasters. A coordinated and integrated interagency planning and response system is recognized as critical to the improvement of national disaster planning, preparedness, and response. At the request of the U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia, Mark C. Minton, the U.S. Department of Defense initiated a bilateral, progressive, multi-phased, joint disaster response training program with the Mongolian government, a program that spanned several months starting in early 2009. The program has produced one of the most successful cooperative exchanges and disaster management training activities between the United States and Mongolia to date. The final phase was the program's capstone event, Exercise Gobi Wolf. It was conducted from 30 March to 10 April 2009, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, under the auspices of the Mongolian National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and USPACOM's Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (COE-DMHA), along with the State of Alaska and the Alaskan National Guard. This on-the-ground scenario depicted a train derailment involving hazardous materials on a major railway artery within the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. Over 300 first responders and participants were involved. The exercise successfully demonstrated all levels of planning and training up to this phase.