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82nd Airborne Division Pre-Deployment Governance and Economics Conference Conducted by the Institute for Defense and Business

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090316/DC84323LOGO)

At the conference Colonel (P) Jeffrey A. Sinclair, Deputy Commanding General (Support), 82nd Airborne Division talked about their upcoming deployment saying: "All of us are involved in the governance and economic efforts in Afghanistan. We must help push this ball forward. I believe this pre-deployment conference has made us better prepared for our mission."

More than 800 paratroopers from Fort Bragg will deploy overseas this fall as the 82nd Airborne Division will be taking command of operations in southern Afghanistan. Paratroopers will replace soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division Headquarters in Regional Command South. There, the division headquarters will oversee the Combined Joint Task Force 82, which provides command oversight and coordination of U.S. and allied forces in southern Afghanistan.

The conference focused on governance and economic development strategies and the activities planned and underway by the Afghan government, U.S. government agencies, international partners, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. Specific topics included U.S. policy, rule of law, international efforts, reconciliation and the transfer of authority.

Over twenty speakers, representing a diverse range of organizations, spoke to the attendees over the course of the conference. All of the speakers work daily on issues in Afghanistan, and many of them have recently returned from tours to the region. Several speakers participated from Kandahar, Afghanistan via video teleconference. Speakers included:

    --  Mr. James DeHart, Director, Office for Afghanistan, U.S. Department of
        State
    --  Mr. Marlin Hardinger, Office for Afghanistan, U.S. Department of State
    --  Mr. Andrew Haviland, Senior Civilian Representative, Regional Platform
    --  BRIG Christopher Field (Australian Army), Deputy Commanding General
        (Force Deployment), 82nd Airborne Division
    --  Mr. Nick Dowling, President, IDS International
    --  Mr. Jim Hake, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Spirit of America
    --  Mr. Todd Diamond, Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Chemonics
        International
    --  Mr. Paolo Galli, Deputy Director, Washington Office, United Nations
        Development Program
    --  Mr. Patrick Carroll, Afghan Cultural & Governance Advisor, L-3
        Communications
    --  Mr. Tim Millikan, Governance Advisor, RC-S
    --  Ms. Inge Fryklund, Former USAID Governance and RoL Advisor
    --  Mr. Etienne LeBailly, Office for Afghanistan, U.S. Department of State
    --  Mr. Gary Soiseth, USDA Agricultural Advisor, District Stabilization Team
        Arghandab
    --  CDR Brian Ginnane, U.S. Central Command J-8
    --  Mr. Tom Niblock, Former Senior Advisor, Government Media Information
        Center, American Embassy, Kabul
    --  Mr. Ben Connable, International Policy Analyst, RAND Corp
    --  Mr. David Sedney, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Afghanistan,
        U.S. Department of Defense
    --  Mr. Thomas Baltazar, Senior Advisor, Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan
        Affairs, USAID

The IDB has delivered pre-deployment conferences for Army and Marine Corps units heading to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2006. The Department of Defense's Task Force for Business and Stability Operations is the DoD proponent for these conferences. The IDB worked in partnership with the prime contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton, in delivering this conference for the DoD.

About the IDB

The Institute for Defense and Business (IDB) is a non-profit research and education institute formed in 1997 by UNC-Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina. The IDB offers a series of educational programs for the military, government, non-governmental agencies, and private industry, in the areas of logistics, operations, life cycle management, organizational change, and stabilization and economic reconstruction.

For further information: Please contact Mr. Jason Rodriguez, Program Associate for CSER at (919) 969-8008 or jrodriguez@idb.org.

SOURCE Institute for Defense and Business