Snapshots are distributed to over 1800 recipients across the Defense Department. If you have any news that you would like to include in the weekly Snapshots, please contact calim@nps.edu.  The Global Center's mission is to coordinate, integrate and deconflict the efforts of  DoD specialized education institutions in order to enhance OSD policy dissemination and to increase awareness of DoD international partner education and training resources, consistent with OSD priorities.

This Week

Africa Center for Strategic Studies - Democracy Vital for Security & Stability, Must Build on African Knowledge, Experts Say - Much of the debate about democracy in Africa focuses on the foreign, mostly Western origins of the concept and how it shapes Western, including American policies toward the continent, according to African and U.S. scholars. Little attention has been given to the concept's African roots as well as the experiences, governance practices and traditions of African precolonial states and how these shape contemporary African political thought. African high-ranking civilian and military officials attending the 16th Senior Leaders Seminar (SLS) hosted by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) in Washington, D.C. probed the application of the concept of...more.

Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies Royal Brunei AF Command and Staff Course holds workshop at APCSS - The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) Command and Staff Course 2014 held a half-day workshop at APCSS June 13 to discuss regional security.  The group included 34 Fellows from 12 different countries.  During the visit they interacted with Fellows attending the Comprehensive Crisis Management Course...more.

Center for Civil Military Relations - "Issues in Defense Governance" Workshop - The Defense Institution Building Management Team (DMT) sponsored a multilateral workshop from June 9-13 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Experts from the Center for Civil Military Relations / Prevention, Relief and Recovery Program provided a forum for Central and Eastern European defense officials to discuss and apply new approaches to defense challenges. The aim of the interactive workshop was for participants to begin developing a roadmap to change in their respective defense institutions. Topics included conceptual differences between legacy and modern defense principles, the role of defense planning, intercultural understanding, and organizational culture.

Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine -Disaster Preparedness Program in Liberia - CDHAM concluded meetings involving the US Africa Command (USAFRICOM) Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP) in Liberia from 9-13 June, 2014.  These were very productive meetings involving over 70 people from the Liberian Government and many international agencies.  The primary focus of these meetings was to familiarize disaster stakeholders with two new disaster preparedness and response plans which were developed with assistance of the CDHAM staff.   In addition, a new Disaster Management Strategic Work Plan was presented and discussed. This important plan was also developed with the assistance of CDHAM staff and will lay the groundwork for a 5-year program to significantly improve Liberian disaster management.  One of the plans which was recently developed with CDHAM assistance is a National Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan to guide Liberia in preparing for and responding to a global influenza pandemic. The next scheduled DPP event in Liberia is a major table-top exercise (TTX) which will be conducted in late August of 2014.

Defense Institute of International Legal Studies DIILS Engages with Lebanese Armed Forces - From 12-16 May, 2014, the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) conducted a Human Rights and Law of Armed Conflict engagement with the Lebanese Armed Forces in Beirut, Lebanon. This engagement, part of ongoing U.S. engagement with Lebanon, is designed to enhance Lebanese armed forces compliance with the law of armed conflict and human rights law at a time when the Lebanese military is responding to repercussions of the conflict in neighboring Syria. Topics discussed during this event include observing and respecting human rights, gender violence during armed conflict, LOAC, rules for the use of force/rules of engagement (RUF/ROE), targeting and rights against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Representatives from all branches of the Lebanese Armed Forces participated, along with subject matter experts from...more.

Defense Language Institute English Learning Center DLIELC Celebrates 60 Years of Academic Excellence - The Defense Language Institute English Learning Center commemorated 60 years of dedication to providing world-wide English language training May 9 at the school grounds on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. The two-day 60th anniversary celebration included the annual DLIELC International Festival, an anniversary ceremony, the naming of International Hall, the unveiling of the DLIELC Alumni International Wall of Fame and the American Members of International Goodwill to Others picnic.  "This anniversary provides an opportunity to showcase our important mission and celebrate the hard work of our students and faculty," said Col. Richard D. Anderson, DLIELC commandant. "DLIELC plays an important role in the security cooperation mission for the Department of Defense and the Department of State. Our primary function here is to teach English,...more.

Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Governor Brown's Military Council Visits Monterey Military Schools - Congressman Sam Farr chaired a meeting of Governor Jerry Brown's Military Council members at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center  and Presidio of Monterey June 16, informing participants of the significance of the 12 military missions that exist in his district that spans Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. Farr's co-chair at the meeting, former Congresswoman and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, Ellen Tauscher, was tasked by Brown to travel and gather information from all California military installations and assess their impact on national security and the state's economy. "The existence of a Military Council is...more.

Defense Resources Management Institute - DRMI to Begin First FAO Course Next Week - Beginning on Monday, 23 June 2014, DRMI will launch a new one-week Foreign Area Officers Resources Management Course (FAO-RMC) for FAOs and their equivalents. DRMI faculty created the course following very positive feedback from FAOs, who had attended the ten-week International Defense Management Course (IDMC) or the four-week Defense Resources Management Course (DRMC) over the last six years. Recognizing the evolution of the FAO, Regional Affairs Officer (RAO), Regional Affairs Strategist (RAS), and Political-Military Affairs Strategist (PAS) from diplomatic to diplomat/security cooperation and DRMI's relationship with these individuals through the Foreign Area Officer-Cultural Ambassador Program (FAO-CAP), DRMI Executive Director Dr. Natalie Webb proposed the new course. A team of DRMI faculty, along with FAO leadership from NPS and DLI, developed the course to benefit FAOs and their equivalents by explaining the role of resources management in the emerging FAO/security cooperation field. At the time of writing, DRMI expects 11 U.S. participants to attend. The course will conclude on 27 June.

Naval Postgraduate School - NPS Workshop Fosters Albanian Intel Transparency - Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) faculty from the Center for Civil-Military Relations (CCMR) recently led a four-day Intelligence and Democracy Workshop in Tirana, Albania attended by the Albanian Minister of Defense, the Chief of the Albanian Armed Forces, the U.S. Ambassador to Albania and both members of the Albanian Parliament and the heads of Albania's Intelligence Services, April 28 - May 2. The CCMR team was composed of the Dean of NPS' School of International Graduate Studies (SIGS) James Wirtz, CCMR Deputy Director Scott Jasper, and CCMR Intelligence and Democracy Program Manager Cristiana Matei. Wirtz, Jasper and Matei worked with the Office of Defense Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Tirana to develop a series of courses aimed at supporting Albania in its ongoing democratic transition. Matei applied her expertise in strategic...more.

Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies Post-Graduate Senior Military Executive Seminar -  Participants from the Post-Graduate Senior Military Executive Seminar listened and discussed with experts about the strategic importance of illicit networks and security sector reforms on 17 June. Two of the participants had to return to their countries, and were given certificates to commemorate the end of the program. Professor Celina Realuyo at the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, gave a presentation on the logistics of illicit networks, which include non-state actors like terrorists groups and drug cartels that operate outside the legal framework. Professor Realuyo examined the financial activity behind these groups and introduced methods of how to cease their cash flow...more.

William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Luis Bitencourt is Awarded Brazilian Navy Medal of Merit - On June 11, at an event commemorating Brazilian Navy Day, the Brazilian Navy awarded Dr. Luis Bitencourt the medal Order of the Naval Merit at the grade of "Official." The President of the Republic of Brazil grants this medal to Brazilian and foreign authorities who have rendered relevant services to the Brazilian Navy. The Perry Center is honored to have this distinction granted to one of its members by the Brazilian Navy...more.

Focus on the US Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity (NETSAFA) - NETSAFA was established to execute the Security Assistance (SA) Training Program for the U.S. Navy. This role was later expanded to encompass all Security Cooperation (SC) training programs, therefore making NETSAFA responsible for managing all Navy SC/SA training provided to international governments and organizations. NETSAFA serve as the point of contact to coordinate collaboration or other involvement with all Naval Education and Training Command activities.  Mission: To develop and execute the Naval Education and Training Command Security Assistance and Security Cooperation Programs including administration, financial processing, coordination of training; and to serve as an effective instrument of U.S. foreign policy by initiating and conducting action programs which promote positive relations between a command and foreign nationals. Please click here to learn more about NETSAFA.