Operating an excavator, bulldozer or wheel loader did not come naturally to Ryan Herdhika, an avid motorcyclist and soldier with the Indonesian Army’s Third Combat Engineering Battalion. But he just passed his heavy engineering equipment test and next month he will be deployed to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) as part of the Indonesian peacekeeping force.
“It will be the first time in my life that I will go abroad, and I am proud that my first trip is as a member of the UN peacekeepers, not as a tourist,” said soldier Herdhika, as he climbed on a motor grader to practicing how to level the ground, at a training ground in Sentul, in the vast peacekeeping center of the Indonesian army.
With nearly 2,700 active duty soldiers in seven UN peacekeeping missions, Indonesia is the eighth largest contributor to peacekeeping operations globally.
A Japanese military instructor helps a soldier from the Indonesian Army’s 3rd Combat Engineering Battalion hone his skills in driving a motor grader, equipment he will need to operate a MINUSCA peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic.
Solid foundations for a fragile peace process
Under the UN Triangular Partnership Program, which brings together countries providing trainers and resources, and troop-contributing countries deploying for peacekeeping missions, military engineers from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force with extensive experience in handling of heavy engineering equipment trained 20 Indonesian soldiers.
Indonesian Armed Forces personnel who completed the training will use their skills to help build and repair UN mission and host country infrastructure, including supply routes, and support national recovery efforts afterward. of natural disasters in the Central African Republic. This Mission has been present in the country since 2014, with the mandate to protect civilians and support the fragile peace process and the transitional government.
“This is a very difficult course, because learning to use a diverse set of equipment in just nine weeks,” said Lt. Col. Tsuyoshi Toyoda, commander of the Japanese training team, adding: “The trainees worked hard, passed the test, and They are ready for deployment.”
While commercial instructors are available to teach these skills in a civilian setting, the complexities of UN peacekeeping operations require instructors with peacekeeping experience.
peace multitasking
“At a normal construction site, operators specialize in only one type of equipment, but here we need soldiers to learn and operate six types of machines,” said Col. Herman Harnas, director of International Cooperation at the Pacific Pacific Center. the Indonesian Armed Forces. “In a peacekeeping situation, you also can’t afford to have separate personnel for vehicle maintenance, so soldiers need to learn that as well.”
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, countries that are also major contributors to the efforts of the UN pacification.
Improving the readiness and effectiveness of peacekeeping missions is at the heart of the Triangulation Program’s raison d’être. But the job of an engineer serving in UN missions requires more than specialized technical knowledge, and this exercise reflects the harsh reality of the peacekeeping environment.
“Our Soldiers also learn discipline and the importance of following protocols, which is particularly key in emergency situations, when they need to act quickly,” Herman said. “Soldiers can now deploy to MINUSCA, one of the most complex UN peacekeeping operations.”
Senior Private Ryan Herdhika of the Indonesian Army’s 3rd Combat Engineering Battalion practices how to flatten a surface, a task he will have to perform regularly in the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSCA once the next deployment month.
A particular set of skills
The UN is committed to continuing to strengthen the engineering, medical and technological capabilities of uniformed peacekeepers, says Rick Martin, Director of Special Activities at the UN Department of Operational Support in New York.
“As we face new operational challenges within UN peacekeeping operations, high-quality units in engineering and other key capacity areas will need to remain a priority area if we are to close capacity gaps and improve the performance of operations. UN peacekeeping operations. he added he.
Next year, the Japanese and UN trainers will return to Sentul for a train-the-trainer course, this time teaching future instructors of teams from armies throughout the region who are contributing to peacekeeping. By then, Private Herdhika will be operating engineering equipment in the Central African Republic. “But after my return, I hope to be able to pass on my knowledge and experience to my future peacekeeping colleagues as well,” he said.
