in Palestine

    Initially I feel the need to apologise to my fellow readers. It has been long since my last post and for sure some of you have lost track of my ‘adventures’ in the occupied Palestinian Territories. This simply happened because these ‘adventures’ have come to an end.

    Leaving a mission is not an easy thing; especially after four years. Many of you know this better than I do. Leaving USSC and the Palestinian Ministry of Interior was not an exception.

With Their Excellencies clockwise: President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas, Greek-Orthodox Patriarch Theofilos the 3rd, Minister of Interior Dr. Said AbuAli and the USSC VADM Paul Bushong.

    Political impediments, lack of funds and shifts to Greek diplomacy led to an end of the cooperation between Palestinians, USSC and the Greek Government and consequently my secondment as a Technical Advisor.

End of mission brings good and bad things. The way I see things, a new chapter begins; new career perspectives, new posts, new challenges. But all at the same time leave a bitter taste at the end. Goodbyes and farewells with great colleagues and friends, incomplete work and an ‘empty chair’ – where in my case, unfortunately didn’t have a successor.

    I feel sad for many reasons. I left a great Team and a great working environment; a prestigious mission with sound impacts. Also, I left programmes and projects unfinished; deprived from the pleasure to see ‘seeds blossom and flourish giving goods’. But the remedy to my sadness is what I have witnessed. Throughout my four year secondment I was privileged to see the progress and the change in the Palestinian Security Forces. A strong and organisationally matured Ministry and professional and effective Security Services within the framework of democratic governance, rule of law and human rights. Although, always there will be space for improvements. The reference to the numerous changes I have seen is beyond the scope of this post. And this is exactly what consolates my sadness.

    Leaving with all the honours received stigmatised me and sealed a confirmed and recognised commitment and contribution from my side. The photos of this posts may evidence this to you. For me things are not as they seem to be.

All this, aside from sad, is unfair. Below is a part of my leaving speech:

“I came here to serve and support you. I came here to give. But also I took from you and I’m afraid that I took more than what I gave. I’m not leaving Palestine empty-handed. I came as a Police Officer and now leaving as Police Officer. The difference is; that I’m leaving a better person”.

    Through this post and by repeating my last words I want to thank all of you for working with me and supporting me in this mission. I want to thank all the friends and everyone for everything. For this experience, for the unique moments. And to wish you all the best and to continue with the same and even greater intense and commitment. Especially in these days where our values and professionalism is challenged from instability and security risks in all West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Soon I believe that I can be proud to say that I did my part in the ‘State of Palestine’.

Home is where your heart beats; I left a part of my heart back in Ramallah; in Palestine. 

PASF Logistics

    The importance of Logistics in the broaden security sector (Police, Military, etc.) has received a broad recognition. The same applies to private companies and enterprises. The concept of logistics can be defined in numerous ways as it completes the triangle between Management / Command and Human Resources. Quite commonly, and in a simplified way, "Logistics is when you pull the trigger and you hear 'BANG'"!

      Going back, few years ago, the field of Logistics for the PASF was a dark area and for sure was not given the proper attention that required. A reason for that was the fact that various donors were providing everything for the sustainability of the PASF and their operations. As things were tightening up and due to budget / funding cuts, donors demanded the maintenance and good (rational) use of their provisions. As responsibilities were given to PASF and ownership was handed over, the need for Logistics and Logistic support became more prominent than any other.

    Reaching this point, the Ministry of Interior, through the Central Training Administration, is proud to announce the first tangible results in this field. Of course previous efforts by other actors should not be neglected, such as the work of the Canadian Proteus Team of USSC. CTA starting from the base that Canadian experts build / established within the PASF, with them, moved forward by standardising the basic Logistics functions and procedures adjusted both to international standards (NATO) and to the local Logistics tasks and functions. The outcome is a comprehensive PASF Basic Logistics Handbook, accompanied by a training curriculum, pending approval by the Ministry of Interior (MoI).

     After approval and printing / production of the above-mentioned Handbook / Manual, next step in the whole project of Logistics will be the design and delivery of a Basic Logistics Officers' Course. The course will be the first attempt in standardinsing the concept of Logistics in PASF and therefore targets individual Officers among the PASF, who hold key positions in Logistics functions. 

    Shared ambition of both USSC and PASF and MoI is building the capacity at the very basic (tactical - operational) level, to use it as the ground for the development of Intermediate and Advanced Logistics Courses and Guideline Manuals. This bottom-up approach with Palestinian participation included will strengthen the current Logistics functions and frame the whole concepts in a strategic framework for not only the PASF and MoI, but also the PNA.

The Central Training Administration (CTA) of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior

       Reaching this point, I would like to introduce you to the Division of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior - Central Training Administration - where I work for as a Technical Advisor. This post includes information about the profile, the status and  the history of the Division. In addition some of the projects completed and success stories are referred and the post ends with the challenges that the Division faces and anticipated problems and risks for the future.

    The CTA's mission is “to develop, standardise, coordinate and oversee training in all Security Services of the PNA by delivering capacity and capability at policy level with international support”

     The CTA activities are coordinated through the Ministry of Interior and it reports directly to the Minister’s Security Assistant, working closely  with the Strategic Planning Department, GMTC and the Training Departments of the PASF.

     CTA employs currently 9 Palestinian Officers (including the Director and Deputy Director) which are supported by 3 USSC International Technical Advisors and 4 Language Assistants.

      Looking back in 2010 when it first established, CTA developed from a project designed in 2009 by the MoI Strategic Planning Department with the assistance of international advisors. CTA's functional role was to develop, standardise, coordinate and oversee PASF training and focus on the continuing development of training strategy and coordination in order to Capacity Build  PASF Training Policy and Planning capability and delivery.

   CTA initial functions were segregated in four main areas: a) Train-the-Trainer (3T); b) Training Need Analysis (TNA); c) Course development (CD) and d) Curriculum development. The author was assigned to support the Palestinian Team responsible for the Curriculum Development which as a main task had to identify and set the basic standards for Palestinian Security Curricula, project that completed in November 2010 and approved by MoI (and accepted by PASF) in the beginning of 2011.

  

Some of the projects and successes of CTA which followed are: 

• Design and ongoing delivery of the PASF ‘Train the Trainers’ Courses (Basic and Advanced );
• Design of a PASF Training Need Analysis (TNA) Course;
• Design and continuing delivery of a PASF Curriculum Design Course;
• Design and delivery of the PASF ‘Common Recruits Course (CRC)’;
• Design of a Civil Defence “Awareness” Course for students / pupils in cooperation with the Civil Defence Service and the Ministry of Education;
• Initial development of Security Guiding Principles for the PASF;
• Development of a curriculum for  Document Security Training (German Project) in cooperation with the German Federal Police and the German Representative Office in Ramallah;
• Development of and training on a PASF Code of Conduct in the Use of Force & Firearms;
• Delivery of a Human Rights Training Course supported by the NGO ‘Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (TRC)’ successfully delivered to Police Officers (interrogation procedures and rehabilitation centres);
• Curriculum design  and support to the Palestinian Leadership College Intermediate and Junior Leaders’ Courses (design, development & delivery).

    Of course and throughout the four year operation of CTA the initial purpose and mission of the Division shifted due to a number of factors. One of the main factors was the establishment of the Genreal Military Training Commission which 'stole' some of the CTA's responsibilities. Generally, today CTA has been developed in a more 'needs base' ministerial body with expertise in curriculum desing and delivery and extended capacities in training policy and approaches. 

   2014 and the publication of the MoI Security Policy for the years 2014-2016 brought a new era in CTA and consequently new challenges. Some of them are:

• Curriculum Development  Design Courses (ongoing);
• The design and implementation of a range of PASF Logistics Officers Courses (Basic – Intermediate – Advanced) with USSC-Proteus;
• Continuous curriculum review and personnel support to the Palestinian Leadership College framework courses (JLC-ILC-SLC);
• Development and training delivery of a PASF Human Rights Training Manual;
• Development and training delivery of a PASF wide Code of Conduct (Values & Professional Standards);
• Development of an Anti-Corruption Course;

    Concluding, CTA’s future role and location will be influenced by the development of key PASF organisations which it supports including GMTC, CTI (Central Training Institute) and the future requirements resulting from key projects including the Palestinian Leadership College and Palestinian Officer Academy.