My Department will examine and support where possible any request from individual members of Civil Defence who wish to serve overseas with a recognised agency. A number of Civil Defence personnel have served overseas on an individual basis in Rwanda, in Iran, in Ethiopia and in Belarus.
The Department is currently examining the implications of having a more structured Civil Defence response available for service overseas in consultation with such organisations as the Agency for Personal Service Overseas (APSO).
The Department is pleased to have jointly developed a disaster relief nursing course for specialists who are working in disaster prone areas. The Civil Defence branch provided a specialist training module for this course.