FORT CARSON, Colo. -- In times of crisis and natural disasters, civil affairs Soldiers excel. They've helped organize disaster relief efforts; they've helped governments understand the needs of the people; and they've helped plan and execute the building of refugee camps.

From March 24-29, six representatives from the Jordanian special forces capitalized on this expertise, learning from the experiences of Soldiers.

"This is a roundtable of best practices," said Maj. George Meyer, 440th Civil Affairs Battalion. "We're facilitating the discussion, a doctrine 101, but we're learning from them as well."

Meyer said that his battalion's focus is primarily on Pacific countries, but much of the doctrine is transferable.

As unrest in Syria continues, refugees fleeing the war-torn country have made their way to neighboring Jordan.

Although humanitarian and civilian organizations have helped take in tens of thousands of refugees, Jordanian military officials are preparing to take control, if needed.

"There are 437,000 Syrian refugees registered in Jordan, but there is a fear that if you include the unregistered refugees that this number had doubled," said a major with 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, based in Watkins, a town east of Denver. "The Jordanian government, with limited resources, needs a strong international team effort so they are not overwhelmed by the Syrian refugee crisis."

Members of the 19th SFG partnered with Jordanian special forces as part of the National Guard State Partnership Program, a Department of Defense program that began in 1993 and paired each state with various countries as part of a partnership capacity-building effort.

As part of that partnership, representatives from the 19th SFG sought the expertise of local civil affairs units, linking the Jordanians with members from the 440th Civil Affairs Bn.

"The relationship between the U.S. and Jordan has been strong since the 1960s," said Jordanian Lt. Col. Mohammad Sabra. "In these exchanges, we learn how to do things we may not have expertise in. The U.S. experience is more than ours. … These kinds of meetings and exchanges strengthen our relationship."

Sabra said that because the Jordanian military does not have its own civil affairs team dedicated to handling crises, such as the thousands of refugees, their soldiers are tasked with the additional duties.

Camps housing refugees exist, but Jordanian representatives expressed fear that those camps are already over capacity.

"One of the camps was built for 85,000 (people)," Sabra said. "But it's currently housing close to 148,000 (people)."

For three days, civil affairs representatives briefed Jordanians on refugee camp maintenance, conducting assessments of the populations and gathering atmospherics -- what the population's perceived needs are versus their actual needs.

"These classes are on the fundamentals in the event that the civilian capacity is overwhelmed and military presence is required," said the 19th SFG major. "This is their first time in the U.S. They are getting a background on our structure and values."

Jordanian representatives learned best practices for organizing camps, keeping refugees informed and providing a refugee-led government within the camps to help address needs.

"We want to discourage the prison perception, this is their temporary home," said Capt. Ivan Nunez, 440th Civil Affairs Bn., addressing the Jordanians. "People should govern themselves, police themselves and capitalize on the skill sets already present, such as doctors."

Nunez stressed that the primary objective in organizing refugee camps is to minimize civilian interference with military operations and to protect civilians from combat operations while helping to prevent the outbreak of disease and relieve refugee suffering.

"They are not enemy prisoners of war," he said. "They are refugees."

Sgt. 1st Class Mark Kostoulakos, 440th Civil Affairs Bn., shared his experience organizing Somali and Sudanese refugees in Kenya.

"Every night, the elected representatives within the camp met to discuss the issues," he said. "It was proficient."

Kostoulakos said that while abuses of power could arise, making sure each demographic had a representative and a voice helped quell that fear. He also encouraged the Jordanians to help keep refugees engaged.

"You have to keep people busy," he said. "People who are bored find trouble."

Sabra, who served as the interpreter throughout the training, said the Jordanians appreciated the knowledge 440th Civil Affairs Soldiers shared.

"As a military, we would like for us to be open to knowing and understanding (the refugees') needs," he said. "We want to be open minded. … We want a chance to improve our abilities."