Hostile Environment Awareness Training - Ukraine (HEAT-U)

Next Training Date - 5th-9th June 2023

Introduction

Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) has been a staple training package for almost every journalist or humanitarian aid worker since the 1990s. Often generic and rarely tailored to the specific theatre or threat the delegates may face, Juliet9 has re-designed the HEAT training concept with one area of operation in mind; Ukraine.

Our re-designed HEAT course is known as HEAT-U and HEAT-UA - Ukraine Environment Awareness Training (Accompanied Deployment) - and uniquely focuses on the threats in the Ukraine theatre and is delivered by a variety of Juliet 9 Group Instructors who have a myriad of experience in the current conflict and many, many more before.

The “Accompanied” option is also totally unique in the landscape of HEAT delivery as we are also in the position to escort media and NGO groups over the Polish or Romanian borders to Kyiv and onward to front-line units for their media gathering activities. Juliet9 has been working with these units since the start of the conflict and due to their high-level access, navigates the multiple military checkpoints with ease, to get you to where you need to be. And back again.

Access to high-profile Ukrainian politicians and commanders can also be arranged upon request and with the right accompanying credentials.

Training Location

Eastern Europe (EU) country with a shared border with Ukraine.

Your training location is kept confidential until full payment has been received and the delegate has been vetted for suitability of attendance. Joining Instructions will be sent with full travel options on deposit.

Your Instructors

Jim Lechner - Chief Instructor

James Lecher is a retired US Army Infantry Officer.  Jim served in the Army for 27

years.  He is a 1989 graduate of The Citadel in Charleston, SC with a degree in History and was commissioned in the Regular Army.  His military career includes command and staff positions in conventional and special operations units, and participation in eight operational deployments to include Somalia with TASK FORCE RANGER, made famous by the book and movie “Blackhawk Down”, as well as Sinai, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.  His key leadership role with an Army brigade during successful operations in the city of Ramadi, Iraq, are recounted in the books “A Chance in Hell” and “A Soldier’s Dream”.  The movie “American Sniper” depicts some of the dramatic aspects of this critical battle during the war.   

In addition to deployments in support of combat operations, he has served at the national policy level, to include advising the National Security Council at the White House and numerous tours at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).  Since his retirement from the US military in 2011 Jim has served in Afghanistan as a counter insurgency advisor to the commander of the coalition forces, as well as providing support for other US government efforts.  He holds a Masters degree in History, teaches US History as an Adjunct Professor at Liberty University, and has served on a variety of boards and think tanks related to national security and veterans affairs.  

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 Jim joined Newsmax and has continued to serve as a war correspondent.  He has also served as a journalist in Ukraine for the Washington Times and a number of other outlets.  Now a freelancer he has covered nearly every major aspect of the war and continues to report from the front.  Jim lives with his wife Beth and family in Chapin, SC.           

This fall 2023 his first book, With My shield a memoir will be released by Osprey Publishers.

HEAT-U - Outline Training Programme

DAY ONE

• Arrival and Introduction
• Aim of the Course, what it is and is not.
• Outline of the Medical Training throughout the course, to include RTCs, ballistic injuries, basic life support and health & hygiene)to UK based Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW) First Person on the Scene (Intermediate) (FPOS-I) Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS). Specific elements of the Juliet 9 Combat Medics course will also be taught.
• Orientation and Brief on the War in Ukraine and the work of Juliet9.
• Threat Assessment, Task Planning & Mitigation Based on UA, teach individuals to conduct assessments which will prevent unnecessary exposure to threats. Develop an understanding of which countermeasures to use in order to reduce the level of risk in UA.
• Personal Security & Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Overexposure to risk often creates complacency towards personal security. Outline the importance of personal security and vigilance. Each student is placed through a series of scenarios and exercises that demonstrate the importance of personal security and how to gauge what is appropriate.
• Information Security: Information security and assurance is routinely exploited by Russia and others; demonstrate and advises best practice in countering the threat posed
• Day One Medical Training-Introduction and the Basics

DAY TWO

• Ukraine and Russia/Regional cultural Awareness & Gender Specific Considerations;
• UA Military ranks and units.
• Conflict Management: Local customs and traditions can make our established practices ineffective in a hostile location. Ignorance of local customs and the inability to correctly deal with conflict can lead to personal harm or death. This will have a focus on Ukraine and its customs to enable an effective working environment.
• PTES and PTSD: Improving awareness of Post Traumatic and Environmental Stress (PTES) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); Frontier Risks teach students how to recognise this in themselves and others.
• Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and UXO (unexploded ordnance) awareness and familiarisation: We understand the need for individuals to understand how to manage themselves and others in areas that pose a threat from such devices.
• Day Two Medical Training; Theory and Practise (contd)

DAY THREE

• Staying Alive in Captivity: How best to survive such ordeals and how to recover afterwards.
• ​Radio and Voice Communications: In the event of a crisis your communication systems become critical to enable casualty management or emergency evacuation situations. Familiarisation with UA procedures and systems with Juliet9.
• CBRNe (WMD) Awareness Training: Insight for students and awareness surrounding the dangers of operating in areas where a CBRNe threat exists and how best to protect against them.
• Navigational Considerations: Taking the wrong turning in hostile environments can cause significant repercussions. We have industry leaders in navigation in urban and country areas that will provide the students with the skills to navigate safely and effectively in Ukraine and other environments.
• Use of trackers and emergency beacons/comms devices (E.g. Garmin Mini)

DAY FOUR

• Travel Planning & Journey Management Principles (including vehicle safety,
  
  convoys and vehicle recovery): Travel in Ukraine can be perilous. This element of the course ensures that students are able to recognise the most appropriate method of travel, pre-plan and ensure that all necessary steps are taken to reduce the risk posed by travelling with Juliet9.
• Counter and Anti-Surveillance: Very rarely is it the case that foreigners are targeted indiscriminately whilst operating abroad in complex environments. It is however sometimes the case that an aggressor may conduct surveillance of their intended subject, particularly in Ukraine. We will teach students a basic level of awareness and the countermeasures required.
• Weapons Recognition, UAV Recognition & Familiarisation: The ability to recognise and understand the capability of certain weapons, drones will enable individuals to make reasoned decisions. Effective risk assessment relies on knowledge to inform decision-making. This serial will be based on Ukraine and Russian equipment and drones used in Theater. 
• Live weapon familiarisation. (Live) Weapon Systems Covered:
• AK Platform
• SDV Sniper
• AR Platform
• SCAR platform
• Soviet-era pistols
• Glock & Sig Pistols

DAY FIVE - SCENARIO, PRACTISE & ASSESSMENT DAY

What’s Included:

 What’s Not Included: