The last weeks in Ukraine, Part III Hostile Environment Training
Hostile Environment Training and Problems
The Hostile Environment Awareness Training is a very?often hot?discussed topic. The?most intensively discussed point is usually the duration of the training. Followed by the course curriculum.?The main objective is to prepare the participants for a Hostile Environment/Crisis Region to recognise, or avoid threats and to act according to the situation.?
I look at it from a military point of view and my own experience on a HEAT. I did two trainings. Both were?conducted by the Austrian Armed Forces.?
The pure military part was a survival, evasion, resistance, escape training (SERE). It was a very realistic training in preparation for avoiding capture, being a prisoner of war, how to behave in interrogation situations, and how to play the victim role. Doing a situation assessment and recognizing the right chance?to escape is also?an integral part of the training.This training?lasted?6/24 with approximately 2 hours of sleep per 24hrs, 1?liter?of water per 24hrs, no food, only one plate of soup to get some minerals and extra liquid. On the?fifth?day, four persons shared one trout and a rabbit, which had to be caught. This was?combined?with a huge load of mental and physical stress. In the end, I lost almost 6 kg. If you have weight problems, join the special forces??
The second training was also conducted by the Austrian Armed Forces, but for civilian staff. It lasted also 6 days, but on Monday almost half a day was lost because of the administration work. Friday was the last day and Saturday was the deployment to the crisis region.
The participants were men and women with different backgrounds, and only three of them with a long military experience.?
I know experienced military is not military, when it is about military basics, like map reading, radio communication, tactical?behavior?in the field/AOR.
This is where the problems start
Psychological, Physical and Medical checks
These three?points are very often neglected, although they have a major impact on general security in a crisis region. In the job description, mental,?physical strength?and an excellent medical condition are typically required,?but this is not checked before an assignment.?
Lack of mental strength can lead to a person's mental breakdown. The causes can be permanent psychological pressure in a high risk area or a serious incident. The Austrian as well as other armies carry out a complete medical, psychological check?and physical performance test before soldiers go on a mission. Despite the tests, in my experience, the soldiers react differently to the new?impressions in a crisis region. Regularly they are confronted for the first time with real poverty, destruction, pollution, grief, despair of the local population and death.
Everyone reacts differently, but soldiers have a slight advantage here since their training is designed for crisis regions from day one.
It is therefore important that managers/team leaders?have basic psychological knowledge in order to recognize warning signs in good time. In order to take measures if necessary.
The same applies to physical fitness. In a crisis region, one person should be able to run a short distance (min. 2?km) with a helmet and ballistic vest. Some might think it is not necessary, because we have armored vehicles.?
However, in a crisis region, it can easily happen that the vehicles become unusable due to a direct or indirect attack. The attack doesn't have to be aimed directly at us either, you just get caught in the crossfire. Then I do not wish to have anyone on the team who cannot run due to physical limitations.??
The question is what to do in a critical situation!?One can’t keep up with the other people. What to do with a team of 5–6 persons? Sacrifice one? Or risk/sacrifice all lives to save one? - Physical limitations - Security Issue
Or you?have heavy and close shelling. One?person panics slightly. Begins to tremble,?eyes are wide?open?and unable tofollow instructions properly. Until someone yells at the person in army style:?Stay?in the vehicle! - Mental Risk
Another serious Security Issue.?No one checks the mental strength in advance.
Of course, it is about the professional skills of an employee/mission member, but safety and security must not suffer as a result.?
For this reason, a medical, psychological and physical fitness test would be very useful to mitigate the risks.
Before an assignment in a crisis area, the medical condition of an employee should be excellent.
The reason for this is simple, often one does not find the same treatment options in the AOR as in Western Europe. A simple dental treatment can be associated with a large logistical effort. If you work in a very remote area, for example. Sometimes it can also happen that special treatments cannot be carried out even in a larger city. Then large distances often have to be overcome.?
This brings us to the next Security Issue—correct handling of resources (vehicles, personnel, equipment, permission to cross check points or borders, time and distance, threats and risks).
These are all security issues we should avoid or mitigate in advance.
Another important point that is often forgotten is the rescue chain.?When there are only two official ambulances in the AOR and the average time to the scene of an accident is 90 minutes—if an ambulance is available. No rescue from the air because you are in a no-fly zone or the risk of flying is too high.?
Should one of the points apply, it goes without saying that you should immediately take care of options— Serious Security Issue - permanent risk management.
Find the right Training Institution
First, I recommend trying to find an official training that is conducted by an authority or a government. The main reason for this is these two are not obliged to earn money with the HEAT.?
They have a very high training standard, all the personell, vehicles and equipment are available to carry out such training.?Above all, they have the right instructors, psychologists with great experience from different missions.?
The Austrian Armed Forces?(Bundesheer) for?example, are?very well organised, planned, structured, with the right learning materials and instructors. Of course, the HEAT was not as hard as my previous training?in the army, but?it was every day about 12–18?hours.
Typical Army—Use?the time properly?? As I said once, not everything from an Army is bad.
It is difficult to find a reliable institution for HEAT training, but the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) also offers the training. After knowing the German?Bundeswehr?from joint operations, I can recommend them here.
Of course, there are tons of Security Companies,?PMC′s?out there that offer also HEAT.?To find a company that offers the same quality as an authority or government is like looking for the needle in the haystack.
Of course, every company claims they are the best when it is about HEAT. I talked with many HEAT?participants, and?everywhere it lacked on equipment, instructors, actors,?or vehicles. It is a very cost intensive training, especially when you have a bigger group. Identical, fully?equipped?vehicles with radio and?satellite?communication, training facilities, classrooms, all the instructors, actors for different situations, specialists like a combat medic, or a psychologist (with experience in a crisis region).
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Duration and the Curriculum of a HEAT
When it is about training,?time and money go hand in hand. For that reason, most prefer as short as possible. I understand this from the economic point of view, but don’t forget we have a big responsibility – Human live.
To send someone to Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Mali, Niger, …?high risk areas?with constant clashes bears a very high risk of incidents or casualties.
Most of the HEAT participants have no experience at all. Each participant has a different mindset. A person who served 20 years ago as a private in the army wants to tell you how things have to be done, he is not experienced.?Others were lawyers, ICT specialists, or a press/media experts. The reason to join?the company or the organization vary.?I made for myself a scale with the different characters, to find a way to train and reach all the different types of persons.?Some have a Private Military Contractor (PMC) attitude, which I don’t like very much—Increased?risk.? Some come from the?police with the police mindset, they have a good sense of dangers and threats. For others, it is an adventure week, like the annual Kick-off meeting with the additional team building activities. But you also have the flower pickers, they constantly underestimate the risk.?There are some more characters.?
In general, I have to say?women are more aware of the risks. This is a big asset for them, and they ask before they act and do something wrong.?
This brings me to the duration of a HEAT. As you can see by now, there are already Security Issues on the list and it will get longer.? I would recommend the duration of the HEAT depends on region and what kind of threats?you have to face.
For Kosovo or Bosnia as example, one week is currently enough, you have also time there with learning on the job.
If you take high risk regions like Ukraine (even before the war), Mali, Afghanistan for these countries I would recommend 3 weeks minimum.
The reason for this is simple, the majority of the participants have no experience and lack the basic knowledge about crisis region at all, and they will be deployed in a high risk area.?With?a huge pack of threats, they have to deal with mines,?UXO′s, (unexploded ordnance), map reading, different communication systems, check points, general behavior at traffic accidents, first aid,?hostage situation, detention,…
Nothing learned in one week HEAT is solid enough to minimise the risks. The curriculum is too extensive for one week.
As example: I pick out?shelling, and?it?is just?an example that was a big everyday issue along the Contact Line in Ukraine. Everyone should know this by heart because their live depends on thins knowledge.
This is just a small part of what a team leader of an organization or company has to decide in a few seconds or there's also a chance he won't have time for a really quick assessment of the situation and will have to make decisions while fleeing.
Military decision-making process under pressure is not a science. It is simple?and everyone should know this in crisis region. Not only the team leader/manager. I will cover the military decision-making process in one of the next parts.
Moreover everyone in the field has to know by heart what he has to do and what are the procedures in a critical situation.
This is just a single security issue, but it clearly shows how difficult it can be to make the right decision. Moreover, you won't have hours, or months for planning and testing. This needs a very good military knowledge and experience and all team members/employees should know what to do. In a crisis region is no space for mistakes!!
In the Army, we had a saying, our unit is only as strong as the weakest link.?
If you are out in the field, it doesn’t matter if you have 2,4, 8, 40, 100,… employees/mission members in your company/organization the weakest link/bad mistake can cause a chain reaction that affects all persons.?
This is what makes team building for a crisis region?so important during a HEAT. A wrong?action?by a single person can?have a major impact on everyone.
This is underestimated, in my opinion. It's just an individual behavior that can have an impact on the whole company/organization. During an exercise, a militia stopped a vehicle, we got detained. During the interrogation, the acting militia soldier yells with the participant and accuses him being a spy. The participant says NO. Acting soldier gets support, another one is yelling at the participant: DON'T LIE, YOU ARE A SPY!!! This happens two more times and suddenly the participant says seriously: YES I AM A SPY!!! It was not a joke or making fun. Maybe it was his mentality, his mental strength, or his polite and nice character. I can't tell. This was luckily an exercise not real. Just imagine what would happen if something happens in reality. Espionage is a “tricky” accusation. To admit this accusation is a disaster. Not only for the one who admitted the accusation.?
For this reason mental strength should be checked. It is a serious Security Issue.
Because time is too short many important topics can only be briefly discussed. The focus during one week lies on map reading, comms, check points, victim role, …. the very basics. Unfortunately everyone cares more about their own stuff in the AOR, because one week HEAT is not enough for a common feeling of togetherness. In a crisis region especially in a field mission, they have to be able to rely on each other. The team building must also be continued in the AOR.
If you create a common mindset for the problems and dangers, they will carry on this to other employees/mission members – Behavioral Security, change the mindset?and surroundings?of people without pressuring them.
This will increase the overall security of everyone?in a company or organization.?
And we have another Security Issue – they do not act as a team, group, unit, …
Learning on the job in a high risk area is not acceptable,?all employees/mission members should arrive with a very solid training in the AOR. We always talk about avoiding and mitigating risks, but act contradictory.
A week of training gives them the wrong impression of their abilities. Many leave the week with an incorrect self-assessment. Most are now convinced that they know everything about how to behave in a crisis region. This leads to incorrect behavior and increased risk.?
Next Security Issue – wrong self-assessment
As I mentioned at the beginning, women do better here. They are more aware of?their abilities and more careful than men ????
This is just a shortcut about HEAT, and I think it gives a good picture of why a longer training for crisis regions is needed. We might make a difference in between field and office employees/mission members. But also for the office employees/mission members, the HEAT should last longer than one week. In an emergency, they are just as affected and may have to endure the same hardships for days or weeks.
Besides from the points I have already mentioned, I would put a little bit more focus on team building and recommend?during HEAT a?48h?very realistic?exercise. With not enough sleep, MRE (meal ready to eat), different scenarios, pulling the participants out of their comfort zone.?
To prepare them for what might come, and second to give a psychologist the opportunity to observe how the individuals cope with the different scenarios.
Coming up next…?
Get to know your AOR as fast as possible and don’t hide behind the desk, and PINK BUBBLE THINKING YOUR WORST ENEMY,?……