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ATLANTA, Ga. (July 28, 2008) - U.S. Army Central public affairs
office hosted a multi-lateral information exchange between
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan military public affairs personnel, in
Atlanta, Ga., July 14-18, 2008.
"[Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan] have common borders and very good
military relations," said Col. Murat Ashirbekou, chief press
service, Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Defense.
USARCENT hosted 12 public affairs professionals, four from
Tajikistan and eight from Kyrgyzstan, during a five-day event that
focused on enabling both, the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan public
affairs partners, through education and sharing lessons learned
about strategic communications.
"This information exchange was important because we learned
lessons and effective practices from each other," said 1st. Lt.
Khayriniso Komilova, chief press service, Tajikistan National
Guard.
"The more military personnel are educated, the better they will
be," added Komilova.
The information exchange is the second in a series of Theater
Security Cooperation events with both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
The USARCENT PAO section sent a delegation to Tajikistan in
December 2007 and Kyrgyzstan in May 2008.
"This information exchange is simply an extension of the
critical military to military relationship building between our
public affairs professionals and Central Asian public affairs
professionals," said Lt. Col. Martha Brooks, public affairs chief,
USARCENT Plans and Operations. "We plan to continue our efforts
toward enabling our coalition partners to interact with the mass
media and conduct operational public affairs to gain information
dominance in the global war on terrorism."
Lt. Col. Mark Derber, branch chief, Central Asia and South Asia,
commented on the multi-lateral exchange.
"Without a doubt, our public affairs section has effectively
developed a strong, vibrant program," said Derber. "Not only is a
strong institutional relationship beginning to form, but personal
relationships are also developing, which is a key component of this
program."
"On any given day during the exchange, one could find the Tajik
and Kyrgyz participants intermixed and sharing ideas and
experiences about public affairs topics," said Derber.
As part of the five-day event, the international delegation was
given an assignment to produce still and video imagery of their
tour of the Dr. Martin Luther King Historic District.
"This project helped us to better understand American history,"
said 1st Lt. Aisulu Sadyxova, chief of press service, Kyrgyzstan
Drug Control Agency. "Through our still and video images we tried
to show our respect for Dr. King and the respect of the American
people for this famous civil rights leader."
The information exchange concluded with an after action review,
where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and USARCENT public affairs personnel
addressed the vital importance of continuing their public affairs
programs with other Central Asian and South Asian public affairs
professionals.
"We foresee more opportunities in the future for additional
information exchange events that will continue to offer a forum to
improve our effectiveness and abilities as public affairs
professionals," said Brooks.
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