UK, VPA, Australian and USA experts pictured at the start of the TTX/FTX.
As part of the continued cooperation between the UK and Vietnam on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UN PKO) issues, medical personnel from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force are working alongside members of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) during a Tactical Training Exercise/Field Training Exercise (TTX/FTX) at 301 Infantry Division, Hanoi from 18 June-1 July 2019.
Reflecting the international nature of UN PKOs, the British military medical experts have been joined at the TTX/FTX by experts from the USA Army, Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force. Together, the UK, VPA, Australian and USA personnel are working to help prepare Vietnamese military personnel from Military Hospital 103 and the Military Medical University who will deploy to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in October 2019, where they will take over the UNMISS Bentiu Level 2 Hospital from their Military Hospital 175 colleagues.
The Exercise began with a table-top TTX, which will allow the VPA personnel to discuss scenarios they are likely to face during their time in South Sudan and devise potential solutions. The FTX element of the Exercise will begin on 22 June 2019 and will be held in a full-scale mock-up of the Level 2 Hospital used in Bentiu.
The UK Defence Attaché, Group Captain David Houghton, who is attending the TTX/FTX, said "the professionalism and dedication of the VPA personnel currently deployed to Bentiu has been clear to all the nations who form part of UNMISS. The current TTX/FTX will ensure that the personnel from Military Hospital 103 and the Military Medical University who will deploy to Bentiu in October 2019 will be fully-prepared to continue the excellent work that is currently being carried out by Military Hospital 175 personnel."
