Big Island hosts USPACOM International Military Lawyer Conference

Today, Pacific Command's 23rd annual Military Operations and Law Conference (MILOPS) wraps up on the Big Island, Hawaii. MILOPS is a yearly meeting of legal professionals from countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region. With 26 nations represented, this year's conference covered a broad spectrum of complex issues facing the Asia-Pacific region from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to counter proliferation to Information Operations and cyber warfare.

While not a legal professional, my leadership gave me the opportunity to attend this year's conference to get a different perspective on the challenges facing our area of responsibility. As a Public Affairs Officer, I routinely work closely with our legal staff to ensure our desire to disseminate accurate and timely information is just that, accurate. The complexity of some of the issues we face in this region are extraordinary. What this "outsider" took great comfort in was the diverse group of committed men and women in attendance. Their passion for their profession and for the region as a whole was palpable.

Admiral Robert Willard, Commander of U.S. Pacific Command, opened the conference on Monday lauding the participants' dedication to the rule of law and their willingness to come together to discuss difficult legal and policy issues confronting the region. He credited exchanges such as the MILOPS conference for directly affecting the region's readiness to conduct successful operations.

More than 200 attended the conference from Australia, Thailand, India, Loas, Malaysia, Canada, Japan, the UK, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Bangladesh, Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Vietnam, Tonga, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Mongolia, Maldives, and of course the United States.

If asked for the most significant take away from this conference, remembering I'm an outsider, it would simply be the resounding theme throughout the week of a need for collaboration between all nations to address myriad complex issues facing the region. There was tacit agreement in all the discussions and panel presentations that to continue to maintain the security and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region, nations must work together.


Capt. Matt Hasson
USAF

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Asia-Pacific Forces Discuss Military Medicine

Military medical representatives from the United States and 18 Asia-Pacific nations met at the 19th Annual Asia-Pacific Military Medicine Conference, which was held in Seoul, South Korea, April 6-10, to discuss collaboration.

The conference was co-hosted by U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) and the Republic of Korea Army (ROK), and focused on “Transforming Military Medicine Through Collaboration and Interoperability.”

Members of U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) served as speakers, presenters and moderators at the conference, where medical professionals discussed ways to collaborate on solutions to problems like HIV/AIDS, infectious disease, preventive medicine, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and Avian Bird Flu. They participate in these types of conferences frequently throughout the course of a year, ultimately hoping to further enhance the ability of different nations in the region to work together on military medical issues.

This collaboration not only makes it easier for the different organizations to work together in real-world missions, but also helps build the medical capacity of the different countries. It also allows each country to gain a better understanding of their partners and their needs and abilities. Members of the PACOM Surgeon’s Office work to ensure they understand what type of viable assistance PACOM could provide to Asia-Pacific partners if it were needed.

While conferences provide an opportunity for discussion of collaboration, additional benefits are gained by working in each other’s facilities. Different nation’s can share information and resources, which provides an opportunity to learn from each other’s medical systems, issues, and challenges.

By working together on issues such as Avian Influenza, military medical forces can find common solutions to common problems, which benefits the entire Asia-Pacific region.

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