The Bangladesh Army is deeply involved with civil emergencies and disaster relief programs. Using MASA’s SWORD software and expertise, the Army was able to lead a week-long earthquake relief simulation, involving 24 organizations.
Over July and August, the Bangladesh Army successfully led a major disaster relief exercise, involving 24 military and civilian agencies[i] on post-earthquake management at its Army War Game Center (AWGC), using MASA’s SWORD simulation software.
Three years ago, the Bangladesh Army adapted MASA SWORD, a complete war-gaming solution for armies around the world, and the Army’s AWGC, part of the Army Training and Doctrine Command (ARTDOC) has been using it extensively to plan, execute and analyze a wide variety of training missions. In addition to war-gaming, the Bangladeshi Army is using SWORD for an increasing number of risk management exercises, including several non-war crisis management exercises for military units.
This exercise, on a much larger scale and involving many more parties, was organized by the Army, who had a thorough understanding of the technology to implement a detailed and technical exercise.
As well as ensuring national security, the Army has a proud history of supporting the United Nations and providing aid to the civil authorities in the wake of natural disasters and has topped the league for the leading troop contributor, providing around 120,000 troops over 28 years. The customized version of SWORD trains the command staff to retain these core responsibilities and skills.
Among many other disasters, Earthquake is also a probability. Bangladesh has experienced a wide range of natural disasters. Fault lines located inside Bangladesh could cause devastating earthquake, which have been identified as a serious future risk.
The exercise was designed to:
- Identify gaps and challenges in disaster preparedness and response planning
- Enhance knowledge on laid down procedures
- Improve ability to respond to emergency
- Develop cohesive team work
- Enable efficient perception management.
Planning for the exercise began in July. MASA experts worked with the Army to create relevant missions for the natural disaster, while the Army also worked with participating organizations to ensure up-to-date data, equipment, mapping and resource was integrated into SWORD.
The evolution of SWORD over time has enabled it to be adapted for many different aspects of soldiers’ missions from the classic symmetrical warfare to the management of internal enemies, whether they are terrorists or natural calamities. The Bangladesh Army, who regularly uses SWORD, has used its technical expertise to maximize on the variety of uses the software can provide, and have been able to manipulate it to work for civilian, military and multi-organizational exercises. For this exercise, they also integrated other dimensions into the training, including live demonstrations of engineering units when they have had to search for victims in building debris, taking the functionality of SWORD beyond what was provided to them.
The exercise took place on 5-9th August. MASA was on-hand throughout the exercise to provide technical support. The After-Action Review ensured that lessons learned were understood by all those who participated in the exercise.
Brigadier General Md Tofayel Ahmed, psc, Director AWGC, said:
“Bangladesh sits in a very sensitive spot geographically and is exposed to a range of weather-related natural disasters. We are particularly concerned about how the country would deal with a large earthquake. We needed to learn how all the different agencies could work together effectively should this occur, and what likely difficulties and obstacles we might face. Using SWORD, we were able to identify the risks and begin to work together as a larger team to overcome what would be a country-wide disaster”.
“We were delighted to welcome the Minister for Disaster Management and Relief and the Security Adviser to the Honorable Prime Minister to the exercise, so that they could see how the Nation is organizing itself. The preparedness for such disaster is key to saving lives. Some events cannot be avoided, so we must be prepared to face them. In such situations military and the civilians should work together”.
MASA will continue to support the AWGC with maintenance and development of its customized version of SWORD, the Army War Game Simulation System (AWGSS), as well as during further exercises that the Army conducts. MASA was pleased to announce the renewal of its contract with the Army for a further five years earlier this year.
About MASA
MASA Group (“MASA”) is a global company focused on the development of Artificial Intelligence-based Modeling & Simulation (M&S) software for the Defense, Homeland Security, Emergency Management, Serious Games and Games markets. A trusted developer of cutting-edge AI technology for over fifteen years, MASA has founded its success on products that combine scalability, adaptability and low cost of ownership, with a strong standards-driven approach to technology. The MASA product range, including MASA SWORD, MASA SYNERGY and Direct AI, is uniquely designed to simplify and optimize the implementation of Artificial Intelligence capabilities for automating and driving simulated behaviors. Such capabilities allow developers and end-users in various sectors to focus their efforts on enabling a series of cost-efficient and highly realistic applications – such as command staff training, crisis management preparedness, exercise preparation, after-action review, doctrine & equipment analysis, and corporate training. MASA products are already in use by leading organizations worldwide, including DGA, DSTA, DSTG, NATO CMDR COE the French, Brazilian, New Zealand, Swiss, Bangladesh, and Colombian Armies – amongst other major armies around the world – and system integrators or solution providers such as Ruag, NSC, CAE, Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann, Saab Training and Simulation, Thales, XVR, and SYSTEMATIC.
For more information please visit: www.masasim.com
[i] About the Exercise
Participation from the following organisations:
Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief; Ministry of Home Affairs; Armed Force Division (AFD); Bangladesh Army; Bangladesh Navy; Bangladesh Air Force; Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB); Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD); Ansar and VDP; Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC); Bangladesh Scouts; Department of Disaster Management (DDM); Department of Public Health; Public Works Department (PWD); Roads and Highway Department; Bangladesh Roads and Transport Corporation; Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission; DC Office, Dhaka; Civil Surgeon’s Office, Dhaka; Rajdhani Unnayon Kortipokkho (RAJUK); Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC); Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA); Dhaka Electric Supply Authority (DESA); Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (DESCO); Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited (TGTDCL); Red Crescent, Bangladesh; Anjuman Mofidul Islam.
