Field Security
The nature of civilian crisis interventions often requires staff to operate in unstable and insecure environments. Even though an armed conflict may have not yet occurred or hostilities have ceased, there can be periods of unrest caused by uncontrolled elements making use of the unstable situation in the host country. In many countries, risks for the personal safety of mission members may also include organised crime, theft, assault and hostage taking. Therefore, certain patterns of security awareness and behaviour must be part of the toolbox of each civilian expert.
The assurance of the safety and security of their personnel is the single most important duty of care of states and organizations sending their staff to hazardous or hostile areas. Additionally, by reducing known risks to an operationally acceptable level, appropriate security measures will enable fulfilling mission objectives. Crisis management actors can no longer depend on the relative protection their United Nations (UN), Organisation of Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE), or European Union (EU) status and flag might have provided them in the past. Today they are actually more at risk of being deliberately targeted for political (or criminal) reasons because of their organizational affiliation.
In line with recommendations and training standards of the EU, UN and OSCE, ZIF has been regularly conducting security modules as an integral part of its core courses and specialization trainings. In order to complement its training programme, ZIF has been conducting stand alone “Field Security Trainings” since December 2006.
Training Modules:
- Personal Security Awareness, including Dealing with Sexual Assault
- Hostage Avoidance and Hostage Survival
- Map Reading and Use of Compass and GPS
- Mobile Security and Vehicle Safety
- Radio Operation
- Roadblocks and Checkpoints
- UXO and Mine Awareness
- Dealing with Critical Security Incidents (Cross-Fire, Grenades, UXOs, IEDs)
- Basic First Aid and Stress Management
Sample Program Field Security Training
For more information on the Field Security Training, including training dates, course fees and application process, please consult the ZIF Training Course Overview.