DHAKA, Bangladesh -- The sixth annual Pacific Resilience Disaster Response Exercise & Exchange, or DREE, between U.S. Army Pacific, or USARPAC, and the Bangladesh Armed Forces Division, or AFD, kicked off in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Aug. 30.

An opening ceremony included remarks from Maj. Gen. Gregory Bilton, USARPAC deputy commanding general, and Lt. Gen. Md Mainul Islam, principal staff officer for the Bangladesh Armed Forces Division.

The exercise runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 3 and is a civil-military disaster preparedness and response initiative between the governments of Bangladesh and the United States.

The DREE has increased familiarity with the Dhaka City earthquake response plans, enabling participants to practice logistical and medical emergency scenarios, identify gaps in plans and procedures, increase coordination between emergency management and aviation stakeholders, and practice the incorporation of media in response planning. The DREE has also provided a venue to evaluate foreign humanitarian assistance procedures in Bangladesh.

"Bringing together diverse civilian and military representatives across all aspects of government and non-government organizations provides a comprehensive medium to work together towards achieving common emergency preparedness, response and recovery goals," Bilton said.

The four-day event brings together more than 150 participants through a phased tabletop exercise, or TTX, and a field training exercise, or FTX. It includes presentations by subject matter experts on disaster relief and the earthquake vulnerability in Bangladesh and an after-action review, or AAR, which will improve the exercise for the next DREE.

"There always seems to be a hurdle to jump over when responding to any disaster throughout the world and that is the understanding and partnership between the response team and the affected nation," said Col. Todd Farmer, head of delegation for the DREE and joint logistics officer for the Oregon National Guard. "This exercise is solving that problem by building a strong relationship with not only the military, but also the government organizations and international organizations that would be responding."

The DREE scenario involves a 7.5-magnitude earthquake striking the central and eastern part of Bangladesh, and leaving more than 50,000 killed and 100,000 displaced and injured.

"This type of exercise is a fantastic opportunity for all groups to get a better understanding of what resources would be needed and how to best utilize those resources in the event of a catastrophic earthquake here in Bangladesh," Farmer said.

During the FTX, participants will create a multi-national coordination center, or MNCC, which integrates response efforts from the military as well as civilian government agencies and multiple international organizations. The FTX also involves the loading and unloading of relief supplies from an aircraft while managing the distribution of these supplies throughout the region.

Pacific Resilience is a series of exercises throughout the Asia-Pacific region that ensure that the United States is prepared to assist its global partners in the event of a major disaster and supports U.S. Pacific Command's, or USPACOM's, civil-military integration and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief capabilities.

"This event represents a key component to U.S. - Bangladesh relations," Bilton said. "By training together, we improve the capabilities of our countries while strengthening the partnership between our nations."