Contact: Leah Barbour
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Military personnel and civilians alike who are interested in offering disaster relief or supporting humanitarian assistance should register for Mississippi State's upcoming Joint Humanitarian Operations Course.
JHOC will be held at the university's Bost Conference Center from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 16 and from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 17. Qualifying participants may earn 1.4 continuing education credits or 0.5 joint qualified officer points. To learn more or register, call 662-418-6821.
Alongside members of Mississippi Army National Guard and MSU's ROTC battalion, JHOC welcomes civilian participants who help in disaster response or mitigation, as well as humanitarian workers. MSU faculty and graduate students also may attend.
During the interactive training workshop, participants will gather on campus to learn more about international humanitarian action, including the best practices guiding disaster relief operations.
The course will be hosted by MSU's John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA).
The OFDA's Military Liaison Team, established by the USAID to train U.S. military leaders, response organizers and other disaster-response groups, will lead the training.
Topics include:
--Principles and practices undergirding international humanitarian actions.
--The U.S. government's international disaster response structure, including offices, policies, mandates, roles and responsibilities.
--The worldwide disaster response system, such as the roles of the host nation, non-government agencies and the United Nations.
--U.S. civilian partners and their roles, especially as related to best practices and lessons learned during joint operations.
"We wanted to allow any students thinking about careers in international fields to be able to learn about the wonderful opportunities, in terms of career advancement, that USAID offers," said Judith Phillips, research associate with the Stennis Institute. "There's really a wealth of employment opportunity for people who are interested in service or policy; USAID works in virtually every nation in the world."
Nearly 25 members of MSU's ROTC battalion will participate in the JHOC workshop, said Maj. Brad Hollingsworth, student recruiter.
"This is an outstanding opportunity because right now, the Army is really pushing for joint exercises, which are required to be an officer on active duty," Hollingsworth said. "Working collaboratively is especially important, and people are jumping to take this joint class. We'll be bringing the sharpest minds together to discuss what's going on in the world.
"We offer one of the best ROTC programs in the country here at Mississippi State, and this course will train everyone in it -- combat and non-combat -- how to work together."
Visit www.armyrotc.msstate.edu to learn more about MSU's ROTC battalion.
MSU is online at www.msstate.edu.