HONOLULU –  Thirty-two Fellows graduated  May 9 from the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies “Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction Course” in Honolulu. The Fellows included senior military and civilian government leaders from 18 countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region who attended the three-week course to study regional security.

The Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies is a Department of Defense regional study, conference and research center. The center’s mission is to educate and develop leaders to advance strategic communication and security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Countries represented at the course were: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States and Vietnam.

This was the third Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction course offered at APCSS. The course takes a comprehensive approach SSTR operations and activities focusing on three broad topic areas:

(1) pre-conflict/pre-complex emergency condition-setting, (2) post-conflict/post-complex emergency transitions and (3) post-conflict/post-complex emergency reconstruction.  It also addresses basic definitions and types of stability operations, coalition building and inter-agency coordination, interventions and occupations, post-conflict/post-complex emergency reconstruction steps, transition planning, and strategic communications, among other supporting topics.  The course is designed to impart vital knowledge as well as to develop leaders’ skills and frameworks in order to improve the effectiveness of SSTR practitioners. 

To date, the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies has had representatives from 45 countries attend the College and has hosted or co-hosted conferences/seminars with nearly 6,700+ participants from 66 countries.