Carlo Nino On-Line

Last week I was interviewed about my experience in Liberia during the ebola epidemic as it was tied in with the recently deployed Oxford vaccine. To get straight to it, the video is below.

Working in Uganda for two years provided much distance and perspective from working in other African countries. Djibouti, Tanzania, Liberia all have their unique and specific interests, goals and agendas yet share resources, cultures, languages and economies.

Interlinked through all these are also the fabric of well-being. Health. Mutual and shared prosperity. When COVID arrived in Uganda in March of 2019 I had some early predictions about how this would play out. Working in areas like urban and rural Bangladeshi landscape you can see what effects and direct impacts are on populations ranked as poor or ultra-poor by the UN, WFP, UNDP, UNICEF and others. You see commonalities. What these countries lack in national infrastructure they make up for in societal and cultural self-awareness. Countries who had necessarily had to access sustainable development goal oriented projects were able to pivot more quickly due to their immersion and proximity to these practices. They were also able to absorb the information about a new viral threat much like every other natural disaster they have faced. Floods, droughts, locusts, neglected tropical diseases also do not include global climate change, an non-existent middle class, and ongoing challenges for transparent political reform. Covid was just another day in Africa.

I was in Uganda for a year and a half working on the African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership (APRRP). It was a State Dept funded program that was being administered and operated by AFRICOM, one of the commands belonging to the Dept of Defense. This program was designed for outcomes related to possessing the capability of rapidly deploying a Ugandan Battle Groups (UGABAGs are like modular USMC MEU’s that go our for 6 month rotations before being switched out).

Covid struck and we had to modify our schedules to adapt to the new quarantine protocols (travel, video-conferencing, scheduling, etc.). I found myself in Uganda with some 20 years of overseas experiences in developing countries with limited resources, opportunities or life support. I had seen several projects conducted in Bangladesh that were small in scope and ambition but yielded tremendous impacts.

I worked a small chain linking the topics of gender, vulnerable populations, economy, culture and WASH through the use of masks. Liberia we mobilized the community. There were many similarities and overlaps.

The up-shot of much of this is that many valuable lessons-learned were achieved vis-a-vis at the expense of human life. To mitigate or blunt the force and impact of a novel disease we developed lessons-learned and devised what-if scenario’s. Implementation of these lessons and protocols from recent calamities would reduce pressure on human suffering and impact other related sectors such as economy, tech, global climate change and the rest.

I am happy to report that my Project Management Institute – Agile Certified Practioner (PMI-ACP) certification has been achieved.

I applied for and attained my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification was attained last February and now my PMI-ACP this November. It required a combination of:

• Bootcamp (Project Management Academy
• Griffith’s PMI-ACP Exam Prep Book
• PMI’s, “Agile Certified Exam Outline”
• 10 Practice Exams repeatedly scoring 85%
• Personally made flash cards
• (2) brain dumps per day memorizing the Manifesto and 12 Agile and 12 XP Principles
• 6 weeks of study on a calendarized schedule, 6 hrs per day. (weekends off)

These are both noteworthy achievements for me ever since I left the U.S. Marine Corps in 2009. When I left the USMC I didn’t know what I didn’t know, even as an officer, even as someone who threw money at websites like Monster Jobs to prepare my CV for me. I can credit much of my success to Linked-In.

Patterns of Success

I was encouraged by family and friends to go after the PMI-ACP exam following my success with the PMP. I was unsure at first until I learned more about what the purpose and place of AGILE in project management really meant. Waterfall vs iteration/elaboration in a dynamic environment with perhaps no specific known outcome. Capital projects vs knowledge based projects.

Agile had more tools and was light on documentation whereas waterfall techniques in traditional waterfall had large change/edit overhead processes and tools where changes could severely impact the cost and duration of a project and were discouraged. With Agile, the mindset was welcoming changes early on and also using Test Drive Development to fail early to begin the refinement process. I learned quite a bit. I added many new tools to my approach toward project management which went beyond comprehensives work breakdown structures to models that could select the best stories from the backlog prioritized on early return of value to the customer, early and often. Good stuff.

The Project Management Academy had excellent instructors but I must emphasize on technique which I’m sure is time-honored but worth mentioning again here.

Following your boot camp, it’s a good idea to register for your PMI exam directly after the conclusion of the bootcamp. This puts you on a timetable and helps you stay accountable with yourself and plan a study plan.

As I transition from my current position in Uganda in the middle of 2020 I look back over the last 10 years working for INGO’s (international non-governmental agencies) and now as a consultant contractor for the Dept of Defense/AFRICOM, Dept of States Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) and in collaboration with the US Mission to Uganda via the US Embassy in Kampala. I work closely with the Office for Security and Cooperation (OSC) and the DATT/Col DuPont.

I get to spend some time thinking of what I have actually contributed over the last 25+ years. I like to think that the world and its inhabitants taught me how to not just be a better leader or contributor or even American but a better and more human person inside.

I remember my first civilian job in 2009. After 12+ years of service and being a major I thought I knew a lot. I had a lot more to learn!!! #stayhumble. My first supervisor told me to learn project management. I had no idea what she meant or was talking about. Sometime in Haiti in 2015 I learned what it was. I wanted to gain my PMP.

I finally attained my PMP last Feb, 2020. It was a great personal achievement following my departure from the Marine Corps.

I will wrap it up here noting that without so much exposure, patience and mentorship from friends, colleagues, recipients, beneficiaries and the galaxy of stakeholders from each walk of life I wouldn’t have been able to leverage all these fancy titles and achievements to help the communities and world I live in at large.

It’s been a journey, one in which I would do again… in a twinkling of an eye.

#pmp #securityclearance #recruiter #resilience #boozallenhamilton #metisolutions #secretclearance #uganda #updf #uspartners #logisticsmanagement #operations #urdcc #strategicplanning #partnersupport #securityassistance

The purpose of the project is to promote and protect the social, economic and physical welfare of vulnerable populations in Jinja, Uganda using local strategies to respond to health, economic and gender issues due to the COVID19 virus.

If the local ultra-poor population is provided government sanctioned face masks, then the local population will be compliant with government policy, protecting health and highlighting government linkage to public service delivery.

4 primary Sustainable Development Goals have mutual areas of interest in support of this project.
SDG 3: Good Health,
SDG 5: Gender Equality,
SDG 6: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH),
SDG 9: Innovation.
Jinja is in the Southeastern part of Uganda. It is a small district found east of the Nile River and along the northern shores of Lake Victoria. Jinja District has an area of 767.7sq Km of which 701.9 sq km is land and the rest (65.8 Sq km) is covered by water bodies.
The district is subdivided into 3 counties namely, Butembe, Kagoma and Jinja Municipality. There are 6 Sub-Counties; 46 Parishes and 381 villages. Jinja Municipality has three sub-counties and 55 villages. Rippon Village is a vulnerable fishing village on the bank of Lake Victoria.

Health – Linkages include correlations between donning face protection and contamination. Given a 10,000 size population 7,500 will reach 75% of the population. 10% could potentially reduce cases by 20%.
“Results from a an influenza (H1N1) show that if N95 respirators are only 20% effective in reducing susceptibility and infectivity, only 10% of the population would have to wear them to reduce the number of influenza A (H1N1) cases by 20%. [Concluding] that, if worn properly, facemasks are an effective intervention strategy in reducing the spread of pandemic (H1N1) 2009.”
Published online 2010 Feb 10.
Mathematical Modeling of the Effectiveness of Facemasks in Reducing the Spread of Novel Influenza A (H1N1)
Samantha M. Tracht, Sara Y. Del Valle, and James M. Hyman
Dee A. Carter, Editor https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2818714/

Economy – The fishing village serves the local economy producing revenue and fish to the town of Jinja. Fishing accounts for % of the local economy providing a vital link to livelihoods, health and food security.

Gender – Linkages include impacts to women’s livelihoods, children’s nutrition/mortality rates, access to clinic support and educational opportunities for children. Acute income disparity impacts children resulting in lesser skilled population.

8 weeks: Producing 954 per week for total of 7,632.

At Joint Special Operations University (JSOU), the mission is to deliver relevant SOF-specific education to the USSOCOM enterprise and priority partners to influence the current and future strategic environment. Their vision is to be SOF’s advantage; sharpening minds by inspiring ideas, connecting people, and accelerating learning. We were lucky to have the current team in town to provide civil-military relations training to the Ugandan People’s Defense Force (UPDF) at the Ugandan Rapid Deployment Capability Centre. Great team and looking forward to engaging with again. Godspeed gents.

CIV-MIL Affairs Instructors – Joinst Special Forces University

Ken LaVoy Ted Martin, CSM (R) BG (R) Michael Warmack #updf #metisolutions #urdcc #sustainability #civmil #cimic #cmo #aprrp #capacitybuilding #jsou #jointspecialoperations #jsoc #africom #carlonino #carlo #ninoabstract #ninoabstractconsulting

While working in Bangladesh I have worked mostly in the operations role and field.  That means procurements, finances, HR responsibilities, staying abreast of all IT related issues, SECURITY, it goes on and on. I’m not on the program side of things.

What is not missing if daily interaction in Bangladesh.  Some days are more successful than others and sometimes when I’m saying hello or good morning to my staff it can appear gratuitous.

Developing cultural agility takes time and time+errors builds experience and lessons learned.  I found it valuable to keep a journal but also mouth shut and eyes and ears open.  What does the country have to say to you, what to the people have to say to you, how is it said and what’s your orientation?

Lately I have been exploring more and more of Participatory Rural Appraisals or PRA.  They are an alternative to using survey’s and questionnaires putting the local population in charge of it’s own affairs and listening and learning how to proceed vs asserting an outside influence on how to get things done.

PRA ranking exercise being carried out by members of a Farmer Field School in Bangladesh, 2004

I set about asking how does one go about developing basic skills for cultural agility and guess what?  I found the following and they are extremely helpful.

Six key skills that will help you master cultural agility from Michelle Randall:

1. Self-awareness. Being aware of your own cultural biases, behaviors, and worldviews.
2. Being attuned to your environment, and to cultural nuances. Adjusting your behavior to harmonize the relationship–without mimicking.
3. Adapting to cultural differences and ambiguities. Being flexible to the situation.
4. Being authentic. (It’s not about putting on somebody else’s culture, but about being able to interact in a way that’s relevant and important to them.)
5. Acquiring knowledge about other cultures. Immersing yourself in the foreign culture and seeking out new experiences.
6. Continually assessing how you’re developing in each of these areas, and looking for opportunities to grow.

Every person will find what works for them.  My father gave me a copy of, “The Ugly American”.  A book written 1958, a political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer which influenced the way the American overseas behaved and impacted policy, helping to form the Peace Corps.

The Ugly American is a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer which depicts the failures of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Southeast Asia.

The authors were disillusioned with the style and substance of U.S. diplomatic efforts in Southeast Asia. They sought to demonstrate through their writings their belief that American officials and civilians could make a substantial difference in Southeast Asian politics if they were willing to learn local languages, follow local customs and employ regional military tactics.

Hi all.

I have been asked for the notes on my brief and I’m including them here.

Thanks for all who attended.

Remembering Who You Work For – The Beneficiary?… the Recipient?… the Donor?