An ADF Mobile Training Team delivered public affairs training to the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) at Cook Barracks, Port Vila, in November.

Over a three-week period, the ADF personnel provided the VPF media team with communications training, which will enable them to tell more of the VPF’s story to the community.

The training came as a new public affairs capability was stood up within the VPF’s deployable element, the Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF).

The VMF can now feed imagery, stories and video back to their headquarters for publication while on tasks.

Sackrine Kaman is the senior VPF media officer and said she was happy with how the public affairs training had enhanced their storytelling capability.

“We started off with photography, then interviewing, and writing media releases, and for me, as a media officer, I’ve been learning a lot,” Ms Kaman said.

“Along with the six colleagues from the VMF, who are also students in the class, we’ve been sharing and learning.”

RAAF Corporal Kieren Whiteley, of the ADF Mobile Training Team, flies a drone with Sackrine Kaman, right, and Constable Junior Borenga of the Vanuatu Police Force during the Public Affairs Course in Port Vila. Photo: Corporal Robert Whitmore

Ms Kaman outlined how the new public affairs capability within the VMF would assist her in telling the overarching story of the VPF organisation as a whole.

“The media team will be out in the field doing their job during natural disasters, and I will be able to get the information from wherever I am,” Ms Kaman said

“For the VPF as a whole, training VMF officers to become part of a media team is going to be very helpful.

“While deployed, they will be able to write, take pictures, capture stories for our social media pages and media outlets in Vanuatu.”

Ms Kaman highlighted why it was so important to tell the VPF’s story, saying it was an organisation that prided itself on being one with the community.

“From this time onwards, I am 100 per cent sure that the communities will see more of what is happening within the VPF and what we are doing,” she said.

“This is important because what we do is for the people, and the people are our security.”

More photos can be viewed on the Defence image gallery.