Last modified: Tuesday, April 7, 2009
IU, Indiana National Guard to collaborate in civil-military training initiatives
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University and the Indiana National Guard are joining forces to provide specialized training at the Guard's Camp Atterbury-Muscatatuck Center for Complex Operations (CAMCCO).
IU President Michael A. McRobbie and Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, Indiana's Adjutant General, today (Tuesday, April 7) signed a memorandum of agreement that formalizes the relationship and responsibilities of the two entities.
IU President Michael A. McRobbie (left) and Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger (right), Indiana's Adjutant General, sign a specialized-training agreement.
The signing took place at the Indiana National Guard Joint Forces Headquarters, Stout Field.
The Indiana National Guard has been given the responsibility of developing and providing training programs for both civilian and military personnel who will be engaged in various assistance programs for developing nations.
Under the agreement signed with IU, the university's Center on American and Global Security will assist in developing these programs and providing academic experts as trainers and instructors. Subject areas include languages, culture and customs and rules of law in counter-insurgency operations.
One program currently under way involves training provincial reconstruction teams for deployment to Afghanistan. IU is providing trainers to teach Afghan languages and culture to members of these military/civilian teams before they deploy overseas.
IU President Michael A. McRobbie presents National Guard Adjutant General R. Martin Umbarger a jersey for soldiers on deployment to use for intramural sports.
"At Indiana University we have faculty and staff with a great deal of knowledge and experience in languages, culture and international law, and we are pleased that we can make these assets available to a program that is so important to national and world security," McRobbie said. "Additionally, as the Atterbury-Muscatatuck training sites become more widely used by federal agencies, we expect to see a significant positive economic impact for the region and state."
IU's Center on American and Global Security at Bloomington, headed by David P. Fidler, a law professor, will oversee the university's involvement in the program.
"The challenges that America faces across the globe oblige us to form extraordinary relationships, to draw on each other's expertise and strengths," Umbarger said. "The relationship we are building with Indiana University is absolutely the best kind of model for addressing the needs of our nation."
The agreement also encourages both parties to pursue additional opportunities to share resources with an emphasis on personnel and technology across a wide spectrum of disciplines.
