prijava
SARAJEVO, September 3 (FENA) - A ceremonial formation of units, attended by the BiH Defense Minister Marina Pendeš and EUFOR ALTHEA Commander, Major General Martin Dorfer, today officially marked the beginning of the military exercise "Quick Response 2018" at the Butmir base in Sarajevo.
The exercise is carried out by the BiH Armed Forces, the law enforcement agencies and EUFOR, and it is an annual planning exercise primarily oriented towards training for certain tasks, activities and procedures related to peace support operations and support for a stable and secure environment in BiH.
This year, the BiH Armed Forces participate in the exercise with 55 of its members, the infantry and one helicopter crew.
Pendeš thanked all members of EUFOR, and in particular General Dorfer, for their efforts in organizing the exercise, as well as on the invitation to the members of the Armed Forces of BiH to side with their counterparts from EUFOR and the Ministry of Security of BiH.
General Dorfer said that, after a successful exercise last year, BiH is again gathering its law enforcement agencies this year, together with EUFOR, to exercise all their contingency plans, as well as the ability to provide support to each other.
“The 'Quick Reponse' exercises are there to test complex mechanisms for activating our reserve forces and their integration with the forces deployed in operations.
The fact that here with us at this ceremony, we have our Reserve Forces from Great Britain and the Tactical Reserve Battalion from the NATO forces in Kosovo, shows that the mechanisms of activation and integration are indeed functional,” underlined General Dorfer.
He explained that after the exercise, the Austrian battalion will remain in the Butmir base to take over from the Hungarian battalion, and the UK battalion will remain here for a shorter period in order to get better acquainted with the situation and training combinations with the BiH Armed Forces.
The exercise is being held from 3 to 7 September 2018, at the following locations: the Sarajevo International Airport, in Pazarić, Kalinovik, Dubrave-Tuzla, Mrkonjić Grad, and Brčko Distrikt.
(FENA) S. R.
