Maritime Domain Awareness

SYNOPSIS FOR PAPER 3 ON MARITIME DOMAIN AWARENESS AS A VEHICLE FOR EFFECTIVE NIGERIAN NAVY OPERATIONS GUEST LECTURER:Rear Admiral FD Akpan (Rtd) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. This paper discussed the concept of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) in the strategic dimension involving the security and safety of the maritime environment. It further stressed that safety and security of the maritime environment are critical for national security and economic wellbeing of any nation. While it highlighted the prospects of Nigeria’s littoral, the paper was quick to enumerate that there was need to present effective patrols, improve maritime security and provide a conducive environment within the maritime domain for enhanced commercial activities and foster the development of Nigeria. 2. The prospect of Nigeria’s maritime domain is enormous due to the presence of huge mineral deposit; however, the paper highlighted some threats to Nigeria’s adequate utilisation of the domain. These threats include nation state threat, terrorism, trans-national criminals, pirates, environment pollution and illegal immigration. Of interest to the presenter was the loss of revenue, employment opportunity and environmental degradation as a result of these threats to Nigeria’s maritime domain. The paper stressed the need for the NN to imbibe the tenets of maritime awareness by acquiring critical response architecture for effective naval operation. Some strategies proposed by the paper to address these threats include the preservation of the freedom of the seas/waterways through effective presence, facilitating and defending commerce and facilitating the movement of desirable goods and people, while screening out dangerous people and goods. 3. The paper enumerated the ISPS code and Safety of Lives at Sea (SOLAS) as some international instruments for enhancing MDA. However, there was need to fuse information and intelligence between government agencies and private ector because sharing of common data bases has been identified as one of the key to the development of an effective MDA. In line with this development, the paper stressed the need for Nigeria to implement the provisions of these instruments as proposed in the code as soon as possible to meet international standards and practice. 4. Building capacity for MDA as posited in the paper could be enhanced through a bill and an enabling act, because the bill would seek to prov ide the national structures, roles and the various guide lines towards the actualisation of the instruments of the conventions on MDA. Though the maritime security Bill is before the national assembly, the paper suggested the partnering of the NN with other key stakeholders in making inputs. However, due to the inhibitive cost of MDA programmes which would cause strains in planning regimes, there is need to utilize the provision for partnership to build enviable capacities for MDA within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and other well advanced countries. As part of measures to build capacity towards effective naval operation through MDA, the NN would need to acquire some infrastructure to facilitate the monitoring of vessels that enter Nigeria’s maritime domain. These infrastructures include Port Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS), coastal VTMIS, Automated Identification System (AIS), Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) and Radio, Radar and Telecommunication system. 5. The strategic approach adopted in the paper for MDA involves consistent domestic and partner-initiated programmes, as well as significant regional collaboration given the trans-national character of most threats and vulnerabilities. Hence the proposal in the paper is a strategy incorporating regional and global realities. However, to achieve the appropriate MDA, understanding the implications of threats would help stakeholders and government to better appreciate their respective roles. 6. The paper was also of the view that while the NN within its premises could provide the wherewithal to educate her personnel on the tenets of the code, the government must compliment the efforts of the NN with the acquisition of the right size and type of ships and platforms. Also, it was opined in the paper that in the short term timeline for the NN to provide the adequate response as required in the MDA strategy, the Forward Operational Bases would have to be developed appropriately to meet the demands of MDA. The development would involve construction of jetties; logistics support facilities and other infrastructures to support helicopters operation. While the long term suggestion in the paper was the phased refit of NN warships. The paper was of the view that the losses to the government could be reduced if the funds for the refit and acquisition of NN ships were provided. However, the paper stressed that the personnel are the greatest assets towards the realisation of effective MDA. Consequently, there was need for the NN to appropriate the right skills towards the management of the equipment required to actualise the regime. VERBATIM REPORT OF INTERACTIVE SESSION 7. The discussion session was conducted by the following resource persons: a. V/Adm J Ayinla (Rtd)-Moderator b. R/Adm OS Ibrahim-Discussant c. R/Adm J Kpokpogri-Discussant d. AVM Atawodei-Discussant e. Cdre IE Ibas-Discussant MODERATOR’ OPENING REMARKS 8. The moderator commended the presenter for doing justice to the topic. He stressed that maritime domain has been given several definitions, but most of the definitions had missed out one part of the definition. According to him the earth spherical and 70 per cent of it is covered by water. He further stressed that the underwater aspect of maritime domain has always been ignored. He then posited that discussants should pay adequate attention to the underwater aspect of the maritime domain. He stated that vision 20 started in 1979. However, timeliness had been a problem in the NN. He posited that NN had continued from where it was in 1979, the NN could have gone far. CDRE IE IBAS 9. The first discussant was Cdre IE Ibas. He thanked the CNS for giving him the opportunity to comment on the presentation. He acknowledged that the presentation was comprehensive, apt and the definitions of the variables of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) suited the theme of the conference. He stated that the presenter understood the goal of MDA as the early identification of threats at sea. According to him, the United States was the frontline proponent of the concept of MDA at all levels with the vision of multi layer domain picture involving identifying picture and observing known pattern of vessel movement in the MDA. 0. The discussant stressed the need for Nigeria to pursue an aggressive maritime domain culture. He further highlighted that Nigeria needs MDA in order to achieve 20:2020. The discussant emphasized that the SWOT analysis of the presentation gave an expose of the maritime environment. It was highlighted that MDA must go beyond platform sensors, consequently automated d etection system could be the basis for MDA as they could be employed for activities at sea. According to the discussant, the threats of terrorism are not as potent as militancy in Nigeria. Therefore, according to the presentation, all efforts could be geared towards addressing the potent threat of militancy. The militant attack on Atlas Cove was used for illustration. 11. The presentation also identified man as one of the key element in achieving MDA. However, the present attitude of personnel to attain MDA was stressed. The discussant enumerated the conditions that were prevalent in the 1980’s when the NN had been involved in arresting smugglers and pirates. The discussant stressed that the NN may not achieve the required rchitecture for MDA with the present behavioural attitude of the personnel. However, the discussant stressed that it was gratifying to note that the NN through the RMAC in the NN Base, Apapa through the installation of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) was making positive progress in MDA. He opined that the RMAC could be installed on NN helicopters. He was of the opinion that greater interaction was required between partners and stakeh olders. However, the challenge of inter agency and service rivalry would need to be overcomed in order to achieve MDA. R/ADM J KPOKPOGRI 12. The second discussant was R/Adm Kpokpogri. He thanked the CNS for finding him worthy to discuss this paper. He commended the presenter for a well delivered paper. The discussant stressed that he would look at the paper from one angle. He stated that the United States and the European nations started MDA. It was necessitated by the need to stop drugs trafficking and other illegal activities perpetrated at sea. 13. The importance of the NN is yet to be fully appreciated because the NN lacks the necessary platforms to cope with the present challenges. According to him, the NN needs new platforms in order to cope with the challenges. He stressed that it was alarming to note that about 80 per cent of ships operating in Nigeria’s water are not registered. Consequently, he posited that there was need for the NN to synergise with NIMASA and other maritime agencies such as DPR and NNPC on observation of certificate carried by vessels in our maritime environment in order to enhance efficiency. 14. According to the discussant, there was need for all involved in maritime security including retired senior officer to help the NN in repositioning her for the challenges. According to the discussant, Nigeria’s sub region is dominated by franco phone countries, consequently, he made some prayers for the NN to consider. The prayers made included the introduction of french language to enhance cooperation in the sub region, establishment of MDA watch in ENC and WNC and the need to involve foreign stake holders like the US and UK in perfecting MDA in Nigeria. R/ADM OS IBRAHIM 15. The third discussant was R/Adm OS Ibrahim and he stressed that he would look at the presentation based on 3 premises. The discussant highlighted his assumptions as: . It is upon the NN under the providence of God that the prosperity of the nation rest. b. Patrolling Nigeria’s EEZ is the only safe guard for control. c. Even if the money and resources required are made available today it will take a min of 5 days to achieve the much required state. 16. According to the discussant, MDA in line with vision 20:2020 would eradicate poverty, bring about peace and developmen t. He stressed that MDA could guarantee full security of the maritime domain, make waters safe and attractive for investment. He was of the view that the presenter was modest in his recommendations, however, he stressed that the presentation omitted logistics ship which was important for presence. 17. The discussant stressed that US mentioned capability gap in the regional maritime domain. To cover the gap, the US installed the RMAC in Nigeria. He further stressed that he was pursuing collaborative effort to enhance the utilisation of the RMAC. Consequently, the NN was able to organise a capability awareness discussion on the RMAC with representative from NPA and NIWA including the Director General of NIMASA. He was of the opinion that Nigeria’s maritime agencies would need to cooperate better in order to achieve the objectives of MDA. AVM ATAODE 18. AVM Ataode structured his discussion into 2 parts. He raised some observations which included: a. Was it the first time the NN was discussing MDA? b. He corrected the mistake on the deadline for compliance with ISPS code on para 25 from 21September to 31 July 2009. c. Why has Nigeria not passed its own bill as was done in Ghana. 19. He stressed that the focus for MDA would be on early detection by radars and radios. Consequently, he opined that the NN could set up a task force in determining NN capability on MDA. He stated that MDA could make the sea transparent and continuously available. According to the discussant, PICOMMS came about as a directive from IMO that all maritime nations should put in place a body to oversee the implementation of the ISPS code. He further enumerated that the government organisations were the ones defaulting in the implementation of the ISPS code, however, he stressed that 65 facilities have been declared compliant by the relevant authority. Most compliant facility was Niger dock while the least was the Atlas cove in Lagos. 20. He stated that the contract sum for COMMARAS was over bloated to the tune of 250 million euros, leading to the re-evaluation of the contract. He emphasised that PICOMMS was not meant to be a permanent establishment. According to him the COMMARAS was to be installed at 11 stations, with 93 personnel to man each radar stations. However, some of the locations of these radar station sites are uninhabited. PICOMMS has procured the DA 42 Opale Twin Star and King Air 350 aircraft. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE FLOOR 21. Cdr Oluwagbamila. MDA is not an end in itself but a means to an end. Do we have a maritime security policy? Efforts of the government in achieving MDA were borne out of external influence. ISPS by IMO code and AIS by US, there was need to harmonise the 2, because both are meant to achieve the same goal. 22. R Adm Arogundade. MDA is a subset of the policing role of the NN. The absence of training in policing role has affected the capability of young officers from appreciating the recent challenges in policing functions. 23. Capt Carew (Rtd). PICOMMS primary duties is to coordinate international shipping and ports facility. The absence of a senior naval officer could act as an impediment to the functions of the agency. 24. R Adm Adedeji. Real MDA is what is happening at the national high command. Real Change has to come from the political masters. 25. Capt Okunbor. He suggested that papers presented in the CONSAC be forwarded to the national planning committee on the implementation of vision20:2020 as the NN repositions itself for development. 26. Sen Olajumoke. He stressed a point that his duty was to be present for the whole deliberations in order to tow the line of developmental needs of the NN. He noted Capt Carew’s suggestion. He had expected that someone would have reacted on the opinion of the first discussant. PRESENTER 27. The presenter agreed with Cdr Oluwagbamila in working out the terms for maritime strategy, he cited examples with the US. He stated that there was need for the NN to be in charge with issues bothering on maritime security. MODERATOR 28. In summarising the session, political will was needed from the national authority from where national aspiration derives all that needs to be done. He wanted to know the authority to deliver maritime security. He stressed that the national prosperity of Nigeria is dependent on sea power and NN. Also, he stressed that there was consider previous threat appreciation in order to re-align it. Failure of the NN could be hinged on inability to ensure deterrence. In this regard, he highlighted the absence of a compact force and capability of visual deterrence. He further stressed the sophistication of the militants in Nigeria was affecting capacity development for adequate MDA. 29. He enumerated that the budget for maintenance of ARADU was not enough to ensure 15 per cent availability of the ship. According to him there was need for the NN to come up with a plan to growth within a time frame say 2010, 2020 or 2030. Also, in his opinion, discussions bothering on ships could involve training considerations and motivations. These would ensure that the personnel are adequately motivated. The issue of 100 ships for the sub region was raised. He opined that, if Nigeria has to be relevant, Nigeria would have to provide at least 60 ships. In this regard, if Nigeria was to be among the 20 most developed economies, she was to develop her national and sea power. 30. Finally, he stated that the NN does not have the right platforms to counter the present threats in our maritime domain. He opined that the NN could realise effective naval operations through better inter-agency cooperation between the NN and PICOMMS, and also that the NN could rely more on force multipliers for early detection and countering of threats. POSERS FOR PAPER 3 1. How can the NN in collaboration with other stake holders in the maritime sector implement measures to achieve MDA? 2. How can the NN harness her FOBs for improved MDA? 3. How can a framework for setting up a dedicated body structure that would be responsible for coordinating MDA in Nigeria? 4. Identify the factors militating against effective MDA in Nigeria with a view to proffering solutions. 5. Based on an identified structure, does the NN need to pursue an act of parliament? 6. Is there an enabling act for effective MDA or are the existing terms good enough for an effective MDA? 7. Identify sources through which dedicated funding for MDA can be achieved outside government sources. 8. What strategies can be adopted by the NN in effectively combating identified threats so as to sustain effective NN operations? 9. Identify policies for implementing MDA and suggest ways of making them more effective. If none, suggest policies. 10. What infrastructures can be put in place to facilitate effective monitoring of vessels? 11. In what ways can partnership with the various stakeholders be harnessed towards achieving MDA? 12. In extending her influence to cover the Gulf of Guinea, what asset mix would the NN require to be effective? 13. What strategies can be adopted by the NN to ensure that personnel are adequately enlightened or trained on MDA? 14. In what areas should the NN key into or make input towards the proposed maritime security bill in order to ensure that the interests of the service are guarded?

Jewish Temple Sections

Sections of the Jewish TempleMrs. McCurdy Mostly From Icons, p. 10-11 The Outer Court is also known as the Court of Gentiles Gentiles or non-Jews were not allowed beyond this court. Traders could be found here selling birds and animals to be used for sacrifices. It was also a place to change Roman money into Temple money (money-changers). [When Jesus got angry with these people and threw them out of â€Å"His Father’s House† he did this because they were giving the people a very poor exchange rate, and so were make lots of money at their expense, after all, they had to buy the sacrifices with Temple money! The Court of Women Women and children were not allowed to beyond this area. It was a favourite meeting place for families when they came to Jerusalem on pilgrimage. [This was probably where Mary would have been looking for Jesus when he was 12 years old. ] The Court of Israelites Only Jewish men were allowed to enter here. They would see the altar of sacrifice and the offers being made to God. At the time of Jesus, animal sacrifices were an important part Temple worship. The Court of Priests This was exclusively reserved for priests. In this area was the altar on which the birds and animals were sacrificed. Only domestic animals would be sacrificed. This included pigeons and doves, the offerings of poor people. The Holy of Holies This was the innermost and most sacred part of the Tempe. A large veil covered its entrance. Only the high priest was allowed to enter, and he only went in once a year, on the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. He offered sacrifices and asked God’s forgiveness in the name of all the people. On this day only he spoke aloud, in full, the name of God. [You will learn much later from the Gospel of Jesus’ trial that during this trial, before the High Priest, when asked, Jesus said he was the Son of the â€Å"Blessed One†. The Jewish authorities were then able to accuse Jesus of blasphem, because only the High Priest was allowed to speak out aloud the name of God, so under Jewish law, Jesus was committing a grave sin. ] This day marked a new start, a renewal of faithfulness to the laws of God.

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 24

Case Study Example The type of chemical reaction that was taking place in T2 laboratories reaction chambers was an exothermic reaction. An exothermic reaction is a type of chemical reaction where energy is produced during the reaction (Atkins & Paula, 2001). In a typical reaction, for a product to be formed then energy has to be supplied in order to break the bonds of the reactants, however during the formation of products, energy is released. In case of an exothermic reaction, the energy released during the formation of products is higher than the one needed to break the bonds of the reactants. In connection to this, the excess energy is released in form of heat (Atkins & Paula, 2001). In order to show the change in energy as a reaction progress, most chemists prefer using potential energy diagrams. A potential energy diagram has the y-axis representing the potential energy and the x-axis showing the change in potential energy as shown in figure 1 (Atkins & Paula, 2001). Although, just like any other form of reaction, energy is conserved and the excess energy that is not used up is released to the environment in form of kinetic energy, light or heat as shown in figure 3 (Atkins & Paula, 2001). T2 laboratories manufactured {Methylcyclopentadienyl)-manganese(I)tricarbonyl}, a gasoline additive. The chemical reactions used to produce the product were exothermic in nature. Therefore, it is important that the company knows the maximum amount of energy that can be released by the reactants in order to prevent vessels from bursting. It is important that training activities and materials incorporate all aspects of chemical hazards. In addition, all employees especially those in the processing section should be made aware of the consequences of not following the laid down procedures (EPA, 2005). In regards to T2 laboratories, the owners of T2 laboratories were trained on chemistry and chemical engineering. However, it seems they were not trained on chemical reactivity

Political Morality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Political Morality - Essay Example t of knowing whether the public require to know about politician’s private lives only during the time when this information is important for assessing their capability to be elected into office. Consequently, I do not agree with this claim. In fact, the public require knowing the private lives of politicians all the times. Even such things as the politician’s sexual relationships and private finances have to be known to the public especially when they have a connection with the management of public resources. Dimensions of privacy and publicity Social practices and activities of public life versus private life have a wide range of domain. There are however, three broad dimensions of these forms of life. These are access, agency, and interest. Access refers to visibility of resources and information. Agency refers to the control and capacities, which political agents enjoy while interest refers to the relevance of resource utilization (Benn and Gaus, 1983). Access, also known as visibility involves many things. First, it involves the people physically accessing such spaces as beaches, theatres. If the access is public, then it means that anyone has the right to space. On the other hand, if access is private, it means that group, or someone has access right. In this case, such a person can allow or deny others access. Access to space does not come in as far as the need to know more about a politician is concerned. In any case, the politician does not wait until the public is aware so that he or she can get into such spaces as theatres or beaches. These are recreational places and politicians have the right to get entertained. This right does not affect the management of public resources in any way. In fact, it is considered in remuneration. This is why every employee has entertainment allowance (Benn & Gaus, 1983). Secondly, it involves people accessing social activities like public meeting. For public meeting, anyone has the right of

Childlink Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Childlink - Essay Example Yet, sometime despite our best efforts, children and even the parents fall further into social problems with crime, substance abuse, and destructive behavior. This creates questions of how to moderate social crisis in families, and relates to the professional development of my career in counseling and social work. Findings, or discussion: The basis for most foster care placements are deterioration of the family structure through crime, substance abuse, domestic violence, and poverty as they combine to create a situation where a child may be taken from his or her birth family to a safer environment under the auspices of Child Protection Services, a court order, or a recommendation from social welfare. The psychological effects of these family traumas may affect all involved in a profound, life-changing manner, hurting the children the worst in learning how to process emotions born out of abusive or abnormal patterns of family behavior. Because of this, I decided to do a literature rev iew of academic sources in psychology and sociology relating to the foster care experience as it is reported from all of the different perspectives in the relationship, including: the child, the birth family, the foster family, the counselor, social services, and the legal or judicial aspects of the process. In reading the academic literature related to psychology, for example, I became interested in child development stages and also the patterns or reactions of the children as they developed through different responses to the alienating situation. I began to realize that some of the children naturally reacted passively to the situation, and that they were apt to close up emotionally more often when confronted with confusion or emotionally charged situations. Conversely, others were always active and aggressive and more apt to resist violently or irrationally when confronted with conflict. The recognitions of patterns of introversion and extroversion led me to the conclusion that di fferent approaches should be prepared in advance to address the needs of the children uniquely, for example introducing activities to calm or moderate the behavior of the active children while attempting to stimulate a more positive response from the withdrawn children. I feel that further research on this topic can lead to a better understanding of what a counselor needs to do in order to recognize signs in individuals and introduce treatment through unique diagnosis of the psychological issues and personality types underlying the individual cases. The same approach can also be taken with regard to family members who are displaying outward signs of substance abuse, or alcoholism. These two combined are the usual gateway to family destruction, especially when intersecting with the prison justice system. The roots of substance abuse in theory are important to academic research for my work at Childlink and also for further progress in the field of social work and counseling. Substance abuse and alcoholism are the most common problems that lead to the further domestic violence, criminal behavior, and deterioration of the family structure that tragically results in foster care. The question of treatment and recovery for those suffering from long term or chronic alcoholism and drug abuse is an important part of my research at Childlink, as they relate as a key cause to the social and personal breakdowns that create the family

Sacred Lands in Wyoming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sacred Lands in Wyoming - Essay Example It is wrong to just appropriate someone's culture without understanding the traditions and history behind it. Moreover, it is unjust to seek to profit from the Lakota spirituality without giving back to the community. The people who dabble in such acts do not usually care that they are offending the owners of the cultural practices. The declaration was quite serious as the Lakota have gone to court to preserve the integrity of their religious beliefs1 and have gone to such lengths as banning non-natives from attending Sun Dances.2 The worst offenders are usually the people who are guided by the profit motive. People who are not Lakota appropriate the ceremonies when in fact they are not entitled. Taking Jews as an example: if the people who do not understand Judaism at all adopt a half -understood calendar of ceremonies and elect a Rabbi who cannot even read Hebrew, the Jews would be deeply offended. These profit-oriented people prey on the need for human beings to find acceptance an d to belong somewhere. As the declaration states, most of the new age religions are led by hucksters and commercial profiteers who are not entitled to take their ceremonies and earn a living off their cultural theft (Mesteth, Elk and Hawk). ... nnabes) are aping the practices of the Lakota without any respect or consideration for the First Nations Peoples’ feelings (â€Å"Responses to War against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality†). Their interest might be genuine, but then they go too far at times. This has engendered mistrust among the native tribes of America. It is indeed a mockery of the peoples’ traditions when the intent is to become one of them by buying tokens of their religious practices. Tribal members view these people as problematic because they will try to pass themselves off as one of them. This leads to confusion among the rest of the Americans who understand very little about the Indian tribes. The issue of confusion is further exacerbated by the fact that most Indians are not forthcoming about themselves since they are a very proud people. As Lynnette put it, it is all about a way of life and not a fad to be followed when one fancies it. Since the wannabes are following a fad, it becom es disrespectful to the tribes as they do not bother to learn about the First Nations Peoples. These people who are described as wannabes would be best served if they visited the reservations and actually tried to do some good for the tribes and communities. There are serious problems bedeviling the tribes and they would learn about the tribes’ culture as they were doing good works in the communities. 3) Do: Find some responses from individuals who belong to one of the categories you described in #2. Answer: Do you think that these individuals should be able to continue using Native American religious symbols, beliefs and experiences in the manner they have been? Why or why not? Do their responses to the Declaration present a convincing argument to let them continue their activities? Why or why not? The

The Construction as a Revolutionised Industry Research Paper

The Construction as a Revolutionised Industry - Research Paper Example It is important to note that nations depend on their construction industry for their infrastructural developments making them quite important in facilitating national development. In this regard organisations offering construction work tend to be well regarded while certification requirements and procedures prove to be rigorous. In many countries like the US and UK among others, there are definite rules and oversight bodies set to regulate the actions of construction firms. This paper aims to consider the construction industry and its various facets in developing the premise that there is no single ideal organisation. PESTEL analysis of the construction industry Political/legal factors Government involvement entails the various interventions in regards to set laws and standards in the construction industry. As mentioned earlier governments have established regulations and standards for construction organisations to follow. Most of them are in regards to the safety and health of worke rs since construction entails risks that result in many accidents and fatalities in some cases (BIS 2011). In case of failure to adhere to them stiff remedial actions like fines are imposed after inspections or when an accident occurs. Taxation is another aspect where governments exert pressure in the construction industry. This is an industry whose taxation is high mostly due to their heavy-duty kind of work (Liebing 2001). The contracts also attract hefty sums of money which the governments are quite willing to tax. Regional Norms In regards to the European organisations the EU laws also affect how these construction firms operate. Regional trading blocks have become quite influential with time as the world becomes a global market place. EU, for example, aims at establishing common standards not only for the construction industry but to all (Dalby 1998). In this line, firms are being forced to follow alien laws that are not necessarily desirable for business.