The case for HOPE’s contribution to this aspect of CIMIC is a little more complex and I need to tread carefully for fear of sounding like the archetypal arrogant NGO. Military medicine in general and Navy medicine in particular have much to learn about Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. The average Navy doctor, nurse and medic is a very busy person working in a peacetime facility. Their customers are fit health young men and women with mainly fit healthy families, who leave before they get old and sick. Moreover, many of the navy medics are young and inexperienced and have been trained according to rigid protocols with state of the art, resources. When they are suddenly thrust into an environment where every affliction known to man is common-place, resources are minimal and people ‘wing’ the protocols, it is a chastening experience and a tight learning curve.

It is in this environment that the HOPE volunteers provide the value-added. Most are experienced in working in austere environments; HOPE deliberately seeks and selects those with previous NGO, volunteer, missionary experience. The Volunteers become the teachers and trainers, often at the behest of the Navy medics. It is this role, of education, training and expertise that HOPE promotes as its contribution to these missions. Whether the ‘student’ is an indigenous, doctor, nurse, community midwife, or a US Navy corpsman or nurse, really is not the issue. It is about capacity building through education and training. That is HOPE’s contribution