ÕPIKOGEMUSE ROLL TSIVIIL- JA KAITSEVALDKONNA KOOSTÖÖS NING INFOVAHETUSES

THE ROLE OF THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE IN CIVIL-MILITARY COOPERATION AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE

Abstract

More than ten years ago the comprehensive defense concept was introduced in Estonia. This article analyses the learning experiences gained from three civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) operations with an emphasis on information exchange. Two out of the three were accidents and the third operation was staged, with all participants well aware of it several years in advance. The first CIMIC operation was carried out during an accident in Lake Ülemiste, where an aircraft landed on the frozen lake. The lake is right next to the Tallinn Airport and is also a water reservoir of the capital of Estonia. The second crisis situation happened in northeastern Estonia where extreme weather conditions blocked one of the key highways with more than 200 cars with 600 persons stuck in snow overnight. The third operation took place during the transport of euro banknotes and coins when euro was introduced as an official currency in Estonia. There were three key questions: 1) How organisations used lessons learned after the crisis, how they documented it and how they shared conclusions? 2) How the learning experience regarding crisis management was shared with partners and how organisations prepared together for future crisis situations? 3) Did civil-military cooperation go well during the three crisis situations?