Exercise “Quick Response 2015″, which members of Armed Forces of BiH (BiH AF) and EUFOR will participate in, will be held from October 13 to 22 in facilities of BiH AF on Manjača.
This was announced by the EUFOR Althea Operation Commander General Sir Adrian Bradshaw at the press conference in Sarajevo today, stating it is a regular exercise held annually, and this year the focus will be peace support operations.
“It is an exercise which is held every year to show ability of EUFOR to perform peace support operations along with BiH AF, and ability to bring extra staff from countries participants in EUFOR mission to participate in the exercise,“ he said.
General Bradshaw specified that Multinational Battalion of EUFOR and troops of Reserve Forces will participate in this exercise.
“Developing capacity and abilities of BiH AF is key task for EUFOR, and joint activities, such as exercise ‘Quick Response’, are important so that BiH AF would meet the highest international military standards in accordance with concept of force multiplication,“ he explained.
He added that in that context it is necessary to preserve flexibility which is seen in concept of force multiplication, which was seen during last-year’s floods in BiH, during which EUFOR members and BiH AF assisted civilian structures.
At the same time, he added, the main effort continues being directed to training of BiH AF and they will continue supporting progress in different areas such as demining, assisting in case of disasters, etc.
Asked about possibility of migrants from the Middle East and African countries heading towards BiH, General Bradshaw said it is a very important question and that there are no guarantees that BiH will avoid the pressure of refugees, which means that competent structures, including defense structures, have the obligation to make certain preparations.
He assessed that if there was engagement of BiH AF in that context, their experience and skills they are acquiring with EUFOR support could be useful.
He added he discussed this issue with officials of Ministry of Defense of BiH for taking activities and prepare for the situation BiH could face, which is influx of refugees.
Asked about the additional risk of “terrorists arriving with refugees to BiH“, General Bradshaw answered it is a potential threat and security agencies across Europe are aware of that danger.
(Source: Fena/ photo avaz)
