Cambodians on course

Team effort: An instructor at the Military Observers Course at RAAF Base Williamtown demonstrates the use of snatch blocks to course participants on a 4WD training day.

THE capability of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) to join UN peacekeeping missions was further enhanced when 10 officers completed a Peace Operations Military Observers course run by the ADF Peacekeeping Centre (ADFPC) late last year.

The RCAF officers who attended the course and who deploy on UN operations will also help Cambodia to develop its own peacekeeping training capability over time.

Australia organised and funded the course as part of its Defence Cooperation Program (DCP), which supports the RCAF’s modernisation and reform.

The DCP includes the development of new education and training packages and the refurbishment of the Strategy Training Centre (STC) in Phnom Penh.

Additionally, the ADFPC and the Asia-Pacific Centre for Military Law are developing a peacekeeping operations theory course, to be conducted at the STC, following the renovations there.

The DCP also involves scholarships for RCAF personnel to study at Australian universities, English language training, and support to the Cambodian Government as it develops its second Defence White Paper.