armed resistance to the UN military troops. Those groups consisted of
(1) supporters of the former president and (2) urban gangs. In fact, the initial
Brazilian Brigade Haiti that deployed in 2004 found itself frequently (sometimes
daily/nightly) confronting the urban/armed gangs.
Information received from the Brazilian Brigade Haiti (and its battalions) included
reports on complex urban operations, robust and intense patrolling, cordon and
search operations, and various other operations and tasks – information that was
essential for informing the training/instructors at the newly created training
center, CIOpPaz. Based upon this information, specific courses were created
especially for junior leaders (such as lieutenants and sergeants), but also for
company commanders, battalion commanders, and staff officers. In these
courses of instruction, the conditions/scenarios for Haiti were explicitly spelled
out, and the personnel undergoing the training were taught to fully understand
the mandate’s tasks, identify risks, and make and implement appropriate
decisions. In the 2005-2007 timeframe, focus areas for training included Rules of
Engagement, marksmanship, urban combat, leadership, and engagements with
civilian actors – to include engagements involving initial contact, liaison, public
information, and conflict resolution. Additionally, lessons learned from the field
were incorporated back into the training and doctrine (tasks, techniques, and
procedures) – especially in the areas of strategic communication, operations,
intelligence, logistics, civil-military coordination, and legal actions. In 2008, when
“policing” tasks became prevalent for MINSUSTAH, the training center
(CIOpPaz) adjusted its curriculum to cover temporary detention of individuals,
prison mandates/tasks, overt policing, riot control, and other policing/security
tasks. Then, after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the training center
quickly incorporated tasks, techniques, and procedures for burials, protection of
displaced persons, provision and execution of security at food/water distribution
sites, and various civil-military coordination activities. Later in 2010, CIOpPaz
was transformed and renamed the Brazilian Peace Operations Joint Training
Center (CCOPAB). Due to the growing volume of tasks/actions foreseen for the
first Brazilian contingent to deploy to Haiti post-earthquake, the Brazilian Ministry
of Defense decided to establish a Joint Training Center to coordinate the
preparation/training of the various personnel (Army, Navy, Air Force, police,
and civilian) slated for deployment with MINUSTAH.
CCOPAB’s system of peacekeeping training evolved over the next several
years into a system whereby battalion commanders, their staffs, company
commanders, and platoon-level leaders (Army, Navy, and Air Force) received
generic training related to the UN and specific training related to MINUSTAH
at CCOPAB, and they then returned to their organizations to train their
subordinates. The training methodology at CCOPAB includes workgroups,
command post exercises, and leadership exercises. CCOPAB also provides a
series of specialized courses for battalion staff personnel on certain key functions
to be performed in Haiti, such as logistics & reimbursement, civil-military
coordination, and working with translators and interpreters. In the final phase of
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