The pinnacle of the combined training of members of the 3rd Battalion of the 4th Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH) and members of the EUFOR’s Austrian contingent took place in the area of Ustikolina from 15-19 October. Firstly in the barracks at Kosova, then later in the area of Grebak mountain where the shooting range of AFBIH 4th brigade is located.
The Combined Training was to help the AFBiH in acquiring new knowledge and experience important for participation in peacekeeping missions. One of the BiH soldiers taking part, Dženana Suljević said:
‘I have been a member of Armed Forces for ten months. Joining the 3rd Infantry Battalion I have participated in every military exercise. I am especially pleased I took part in today’s exercise, because it was conducted with EUFOR.’
Overall there are six large combined training events throughout the year, spread all over the country with 4th, 5th and 6th Brigades of the AFBiH taking part. The final two exercises of this year will be in Dubrave and Bihac. The Commanding Officer of EUFOR’s Multinational Battalion (MBN), LTC Oliver Pilles described the coordination between the two forces by saying:
‘So the cooperation between the Multinational Battalion from EUFOR with the Bosnian Armed Forces is going really well. We appreciate that and I think the training is a benefit for both of us and it’s also always a good competition, in a friendly way and a benefit for everybody.’
