Lieutenant General Pen Sokrethvithyea, Director of the Training Department under the RCAF; Senior Colonel Vo Van Ba, Deputy Chief of Staff of Military Region 5 of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA); and Lieutenant Colonel Khamphai Ouanvilay, Deputy Head of the Training Department under the General Staff of the Lao People’s Army were co-chairs of the opening ceremony of the exercise.
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Co-chairs of the opening ceremony of the joint SAR exercise |
The eight-day joint SAR drill is themed “Rescue and relief activities at collapsed structures.” Forces from three militaries are divided into groups to conduct search and rescue operations, relief and treatment activities at hospitals from level 1 to level 3.
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The VPA’s engineering officer introduces their staffed equipment. |
The mock-up situation is that tropical depression causes landslides, rock slides, collapsed structures and houses in border areas. The militaries of the three countries coordinate in SAR missions. The engineering force searches for and rescues victims trapped and buried in collapsed buildings; the medical force receives, gives first aid, classifies, and transfers patients to field hospitals for treatment and takes heavily-injured patients to higher level hospitals.
This large-scale joint exercise aims to respond to possible disasters that threaten lives of the people of the three neighboring countries.
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Vietnamese military medical force and their equipment |
Assigned by the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam, the Military Region 5 Command sent forces, selected from Military Hospitals 13, 17, Engineering Brigade 270, and modern SAR equipment to the event.
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Delegates have a look at equipment to be used during the joint exercise. |
Lt. Gen. Pen Sokrethvithyea said that the exercise serves as a precious opportunity for the three militaries to exchange knowledge, experience, boost traditional friendship and cooperation among the three defense ministries in the principle of maintaining independence, sovereignty, mutual respect.
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Participating forces in a group photo |
He added that it is also a chance to promote international collaboration in search and rescue and ties among the military forces of the three countries, contributing to improving capability of force organization and coordination in humanitarian assistance, international medical aid on regional and global scales on request.
Translated by Song Anh