HEAT 2023 – The Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC), operating within the Centre for European Perspective, last week held Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT). The intense training took place between 24 and 29 September 2023 at Gotenica Police Training Centre.
The so-called HEATs are well-established trainings organised worldwide by different non-profit and for-profit organisations. For more than 10 years CEP, and now POTC, in close cooperation with Slovenian Police and Slovenian Armed Forces, has been the only provider of HEAT in Slovenia.
The general aim of HEAT is to train individuals to deal effectively with risk-associated and emergency/critical situations while deployed in hostile environments abroad. The latest training was attended by 24 participants; 19 from Slovenia (participants were mostly referred by the three partner institutions: Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and Ministry of Interior of Slovenia) and five participants from abroad. Participants attending either already work in hostile environments or plan to apply for positions that require a certificate of HEAT attendance, such as positions in peacekeeping missions and operations.
The training was a mix of interactive lectures that covered a wide range of topics, among others: how to provide for your own personal security (what is in your grab bag?), how to plan movements and what to do at (il)legal checkpoints (just follow the rules), about radio communication and orientation (GPS does not always work), movement during mass gatherings (don’t panic), surviving kidnap situations (cooperate and gather information), stress management (don’t forget to breathe), improvised explosive devices (if you do not know it, do not touch it!) and basic life support (slow is smooth and smooth is fast).
During the course of training the participants were surprised by a couple of unexpected situations that required their specific reaction. The training culminated in a day-long simulation exercise during which the participants were faced with many stressful situations that required appropriate responses.
We wish all our participants the best of luck in their hostile environments, hopefully, they will never need to apply the knowledge and skills gained at HEAT. To quote one of our lecturers (who quoted Seneca) “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
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5. 10. 2023 | POTC, PR
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The Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC), operating within the Centre for European Perspective, last week held Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT). The intense training took place between 24 and 29 September 2023 at Gotenica Police Training Centre.
The so-called HEATs are well-established trainings organised worldwide by different non-profit and for-profit organisations. For more than 10 years CEP, and now POTC, in close cooperation with Slovenian Police and Slovenian Armed Forces, has been the only provider of HEAT in Slovenia.
The general aim of HEAT is to train individuals to deal effectively with risk-associated and emergency/critical situations while deployed in hostile environments abroad. The latest training was attended by 24 participants; 19 from Slovenia (participants were mostly referred by the three partner institutions: Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and Ministry of Interior of Slovenia) and five participants from abroad. Participants attending either already work in hostile environments or plan to apply for positions that require a certificate of HEAT attendance, such as positions in peacekeeping missions and operations.
The training was a mix of interactive lectures that covered a wide range of topics, among others: how to provide for your own personal security (what is in your grab bag?), how to plan movements and what to do at (il)legal checkpoints (just follow the rules), about radio communication and orientation (GPS does not always work), movement during mass gatherings (don’t panic), surviving kidnap situations (cooperate and gather information), stress management (don’t forget to breathe), improvised explosive devices (if you do not know it, do not touch it!) and basic life support (slow is smooth and smooth is fast).
During the course of training the participants were surprised by a couple of unexpected situations that required their specific reaction. The training culminated in a day-long simulation exercise during which the participants were faced with many stressful situations that required appropriate responses.
We wish all our participants the best of luck in their hostile environments, hopefully, they will never need to apply the knowledge and skills gained at HEAT. To quote one of our lecturers (who quoted Seneca) “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
15. 9. 2023 | EUCTI, POTC, PR
Centre for European Perspective has been a member of the European and Security Colleague (ESDC) for several years but has only this week attended its first Executive Academic Board. It took place on Tuesday, 12 September and brought together members of over 70 training institutions. They discussed several important documents, including Academic Programme 2023-2024, received updates on recent activities and events of the ESDC, learned about the European Doctoral School and had an open discussion on the need for the EU Climate Security and Defence Training platform that CEP is also an active member of. As several training institutions were present residentially in Brussels, it gave the CEP director a chance to talk to stakeholders who are highly relevant to CEP’s activities in the field of civilian crisis management.
The next day brought a new meeting in a new format as Nina Cepon and Jelka Klemenc visited the Council of the European Union, Committee on Civilian Aspects of the Missions and Operations (CIVCOM), where they got an opportunity to present activities of the EU Civilian Training Initiative (EUCTI) as well as the developing action proposal, which is planned to start next spring.
CEP has been an active partner of the European Training Community since 2008 and proudly took over a coordination role 2.5 years ago. As the EUCTI project is delivering planned outputs – useful need-based and tailor-made training courses in CSDP mission areas – consultations with the European Commission, CPCC and EEAS designed quite a concrete framework for the new training project. The new consortium will include not only civilian but also police and gendarmerie forces that are jointly aiming at well-prepared experts working in international operations and missions. Several have been sitting jointly around the table, discussing how to cooperate and coordinate better, how to share and pool resources, how to prioritise diverse needs and how to facilitate the EU to play the role of a global actor it aspires to.
Under the auspices of the ESDC, CEP (and in its capacity the Peace Operations Training Centre – POTC) is organising a Comprehensive Protection of Civilians training in Brussels at the beginning of October and planning to deliver Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming in Peace Operations and Missions training in April next year.
