PRESS RELEASES
U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation Completes Training
for Lebanese Armed Forces Mine Survey Specialists
11 March 2005
Beirut, March 11, 2005 - The U.S. Embassy's Office of Defense Cooperation
(ODC) hosted a ceremony today to recognize the completion of the
latest phase of a U.S. Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) training program
designed to assist with the expansion of Lebanon's manual demining
and explosive ordnance disposal capacity. The U.S. Ambassador to
Lebanon Jeffrey D. Feltman and the Director of the Lebanese National
Demining Office, Brigadier General Salim Raad, were present.
At the ceremony, held at Le Royal Hotel, the Ambassador Feltman
said, "The United States is proud to work hand in hand with
its Lebanese partners to develop the capabilities of the Lebanese
themselves to reduce the dangers of landmines and unexploded ordnance.
We have great confidence in the capabilities of the Lebanese Armed
Forces. That is why we feel assured that through our cooperation
on training programs such as the one we are concluding today, the
Lebanese Armed Forces will have the technical skills-and equipment-necessary
to conduct comprehensive demining and explosive ordnance disposal
operations, for the benefit of their own people."
Twenty six mine survey specialists from the Lebanese Armed Forces
(LAF) were presented graduation certificates and recognized for
their professionalism and dedication to the mission of the elimination
of landmines and unexploded ordnance in Lebanon. The mine survey
specialists were trained by U.S. Army instructors from Fort Bragg,
North Carolina.
This recent phase of the U.S. humanitarian mine action (HMA) program
provided Lebanon with hands-on training of the latest techniques
in operations planning and technical survey procedures. Additionally,
the U.S is providing technical survey equipment to field three survey
teams.
This training mission, implemented by units under the operational
control of Special Operations Command Europe and implemented by
U.S. European Command, is a part of the overall U.S. HMA program
- an interagency effort led by U.S. State Department and Defense
Department officials and augmented by the U.S. Agency for International
Development's Mine Risk Education and Mine Victim's Assistance program.
It enhances an already large U.S. HMA program that has provided
the Lebanese government with nearly $8 million of aid since 1998
and was instrumental in the development of the National Demining
Office.
HMA is one of a number of programs supported through the Embassy's
Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC). The ODC manages programs designed
to assist the Government of Lebanon in security matters. These programs
include the International Military Education and Training Program
(IMET) (at no-cost to the Government of Lebanon) which provides
military and security training valued at $700,000 annually, the
Foreign Military Sales Program and the Humanitarian Assistance Program
that provides funds for civic projects throughout the country.
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