Thirty military, police and civilian officers from seven East African Standby Force (EASF) member states on Monday started a training course designed for Integration Mission Planning at Rwanda Peace Academy in Musanze District.

The two week-long course aims to familiarise participants with EASF doctrine and analytical tools required to operate as staff officers within an integrated mission or force headquarters, according to officials.

Participants were drawn from Comoros, the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan and Uganda.

The Director of the academy, Col Jill Rutaremara, said it was not by accident that the course has brought together military, police and civilian component since it seeks to boost their professionalism given that the three components work closely for any peace keeping mission to be successful.

"This course will enhance your proficiency in the performance of your duties once deployed in a peace keeping mission,” he told participants.

"It will enable you to perform various functions in an effective, professional and integrated manner”.

The trainees welcomed the course saying it was timely given challenges that participants at peace keeping operation missions normally meet in their day-to-day endeavours while in missions.

" Major challenges that you meet in peace keeping mission is that the three components (military, police and civilian) do not understand how other components works then you end up doing a lot of activities that are not coordinated,” said Lt Col. Edward Orwa Onyango from Kenya Defence Forces.

"With this course we will be able to understand how each works,” added Onyango.

Officiating at the course, the joint chief of staff at EASF planning element Maj Gen. Charles Rudakubana revealed that the fact the course brought together military, police and civilian officers reflects the core value of multidimensionality which seeks to create and enhance synergy among the component in all spheres of operation.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com