Assessing Conflict in Eastern Congo
My name is Jason Lewis Berry. I’m with the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization in the Planning Division. I deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and that was in November of 2008. This was a scoping mission to see how S/CRS might be able to support Embassy Kinshasa’s efforts to bring stability in Eastern Congo. During this deployment, we met with a wide range of stakeholders, both U.S. Government, international community, and Congolese Government officials, as well as NGOs, and tried to get a better picture of what exactly S/CRS can bring to the table to assist in the very complex issues in Congo. The conditions in Congo – they vary. We certainly spent some time in Kinshasa in the capital. And in that place, we were working at the Embassy and staying in a hotel. But in Eastern Congo, we were based in Goma. That’s a much less stable area. We still stayed at a hotel, but the security conditions were much different...
Traveling to Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province
My name is Claire Sneed. I’m a conflict prevention officer for the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. In January 2008, the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction was asked to assist the Embassy in Sri Lanka to carry out an interagency conflict assessment for the eastern province. I led a team of five people from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of Defense and our office to assist the country team in Colombo to carry out this assessment and develop a strategy for stabilization that used all of the U.S. Government resources that we could bring to the table. During the three-week assessment, we went out to the eastern province...
Supporting Stabilization Efforts in Haiti
My name is Merrie Archer. I’m a senior planning officer at the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. I’ve been with S/CRS for three and a half years. And I deployed to Haiti several times over the course of 2006 and 2007, the first several times with a team of interagency partners from USAID, other areas of State Department, INL, Diplomatic Security, folks from SOUTHCOM, and other folks from DOD as well. The conditions at the time, especially in 2006, were still very dangerous. It was impossible to travel around the country in anything other than armored vehicles. And even to and from the hotel, we had to be under guard with armored vehicles...
Supporting Democracy in Afghanistan
My name is Peter Sawchyn. I’m a foreign affairs officer with the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. And since 2006, I’ve been a member of the standby component of the Civilian Response Corps. I deployed to Afghanistan for a 90-day assignment in – between July and October of 2008. And the primary objective of the deployment was to enhance civil-military cooperation at the brigade level...
Working with Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan
I’m Ted Kanamine. I’m a engineer and infrastructure advisor to the Army Corps of Engineers. I’m detailed to the State Department’s office of the Secretary – or Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS). I’ve been to Afghanistan twice. The first one was in 2004. And I was an infrastructure advisor to one of the deputy ministers of defense, the Afghan deputy minister of defense for military installations...
Supporting Women's Issues, Governance in Afghanistan
My name is Beverli DeWalt. I am a member of the Civilian Response Corps Active Component. I work with the Office for the Coordinator of Reconstruction and Stabilization, and I’m a Foreign Service officer. I deployed to Afghanistan in June of 2008 and I returned in December of 2008. The conditions there were – they varied, but for the most part I stayed on an airbase with the military in a container. I had two roommates. We all had a little, like, 8x8 square and these bunks...
Reconstruction and Stabilization: Civilian Deployments to Hot Spots
My name is John Herbst. I’m the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization in the Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization at the State Department. This is a relatively new office. It was created not quite five years ago, and it was created in response to the problems we ran into in Afghanistan, and especially Iraq, providing civilian oversight for the activities needed to rebuild those societies.
