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the environment of Mali, gather and analyze
information on the situation “on the ground”, and
practe staff procedures before the real activity
started. Finally, after a one-day break, the 4-days
exercise took place, with several events and
around 1000 injections, all inspired by real cases
and “lessons learned” from mission areas,
submitted to the Training Audience in close
resemblance to the “battle rhythm” typical of real
missions. Both the adequacy (in all of its aspects,
including timing) of the solution chosen and the
correctness of the procedure employed to take the decision were later evaluated by the Observation
Team; all related evaluations and remarks were disseminated during the After-Action Review
st
(AAR) and the final exercise conference on July 31 . The exercise as such could not have been
delivered without a proper employment of the modern media and technologies of Kofi Annan
Centre. All trained units had modern personal computers, which allowed them to both communicate
(typically via e-mail) and perform their tasks (that is, revising or producing documents, images,
maps, etc.). The Direx employed such media as well, both to develop the exercise and to submit it
to the trainees, allowing real-time communication in a practical and “detectable” way –making life
easier for the Observation Team. Carabinieri contributed to the CPX by providing 3 guest mentors
in the field of Stability Policing; namely, Lt. Col. Alessandro DE FERRARI, Police Planning
Officer at UN DPKO in New York; Capt. Paolo VOLONTE’, employed within the Training
nd
Section of the Carabinieri 2 Mobile Brigade (i.e.. the Carabinieri unit specifically devoted to train
and deploy personnel abroad for various kind of Peace Operations); and Capt. Boris MARCONE, a
staff officer from CoESPU and assistant to the CoESPU Chair of Exercise and Planning. Further
important mentoring was provided, although for the first days only, by Col. Amadou CAMARA,
Police Chief of Operations in Mali. The tasks covered by guest mentors included briefing the
Training Audience on UN Police (core functions, skills, tasks, organization, and so on) during the
4-days doctrinal session; revising all the events and injections already written by the in order to
provide, where appropriate, a “police perspective”; and writing new events and injections for the
Training Audience in order to pose them issues and problems that required an integrated approach
(a “Blue/Green” cooperation) to be properly addressed. Failure to properly involve the Police by the
Training Audience during the Exercise was “punished” with e.g. lack of information (that could
have been provided by police if activated), unsuccessful de-escalation
of threats posed by civilians which could turn into violent clashes, etc.
The exercise was an overall success, having a measurable positive
impact on the Training Audience’s ability to perform efficiently in a
staff, notwhistanding the errors made which constitute, for all the
trainees, very important cases of “lessons learned” and food for
thought.

Written by:
Capt. Boris MARCONE
CoESPU Studies & Research Department

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