The week of March 20, 2023, 28 students attended the Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU) SC-301, Advanced Security Cooperation Management Course, five-day class in the National Capital Region.

For the first time in ISG’s engagement history with Japan, this iteration included a two-day train-the-trainer preparation, enabling five Japanese instructors from the JPC to join the ISG trainers in executing the course. Japanese partners taking a direct instructional role is a strong indicator of the efficacy of ISG’s capacity building efforts in Japan. The JPC indicated their intention to build on this success during the next course in July. Participants were encouraged by the Commandant of the Joint Staff College, Vice Admiral FUTAKAWA Tatsuya, during his graduation to “take home and share the knowledge and the skills they have acquired during the course and be a core personnel in the international missions.” Japan is looking for ways to increase its contribution to United Nations Peacekeeping.

Congratulations to ISG Europe Regional Program Lead Sandra O’Hern on her participation in an episode on the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s School Podcast. In this episode Lieutenant Colonel O’Hern joins Major Laura Quaco and Dr. Andy Akin for a conversation about Russian history and the relationship between Russia and Ukraine leading up to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Stay tuned for the next episode to hear the remainder of the conversation in which the host and guests discuss operations and international legal principles related to Russia and the conflict.

The Institute for Security Governance recently facilitated a Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) tabletop exercise in Palau with Palauan Inter-Agency representatives. The engagement, which also included Defense Institute of International Legal Studies, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Pacific Fleet Plans and Policy representatives, focused on a dynamic, scenario-driven event aimed at improving Palauan MDA capabilities and supporting advanced maritime security objectives.

Forty-six Security Cooperation Officers (SCOs) gather with Dr. Celeste Gventer, Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU) President, Feb. 21, 2023, in Washington, D.C., for whole-of-government briefings during the first in-person iteration of the SCO-262 Operational Engagements Course since 2020.

Dr. Celeste Gventer, Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU) President, hosted a focus group March 10, 2023, on the future of Institutional Capacity Building (ICB).