The military exercise “Immediate Response 26” will be held at the Main Training Ground of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ASBiH) in Manjača from October 19 to 23, one of the most significant and complex exercises of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina this year, the aim of which is to check the operational capabilities of the declared units and their readiness to operate in accordance with NATO standards.
881 members of the declared units of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina will participate in the exercise, while an additional 330 members of the Armed Forces of BiH and NATO’s Allied Joint Forces Command in Naples (JFC Naples) will be engaged in the exercise Directorate and evaluation structure.
As announced by the BiH Ministry of Defense, the exercise represents the most numerous and organizationally complex activity of this type in 2026, and its significance is reflected in the verification of the achieved level of training and equipment of the units, as well as the improvement of their interoperability with NATO forces.
The director of the exercise, responsible for the coordination of all elements and its operational implementation, will be Brigadier General Dr. Jasmin Čajić, deputy commander of the Support Command of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina for operations.
During the five-day exercise, the weapons and equipment provided by the temporary material formation of the declared units will be used, including armored personnel carriers OT M113 A1, modern medical vehicles and other means needed to perform tasks in field conditions.
Helicopters of the Air Force and Air Defense Brigade of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina will also participate in the implementation of the exercise, which will make it possible to check the capabilities of the units with the engagement of different types and means.
The exercise was conceived as a continuation of previously conducted training with the support of computer simulations and command post exercises (CAX/CPX), realized on the JCATS simulation system, intended for the simulation of joint conflicts and tactical actions.
After the simulation part, members of the declared units will take part in a field exercise (FTX), during which the opposing forces (OPFOR) will also be engaged, in order to test the abilities of planning, commanding and conducting peace support operations under the most realistic conditions.
A special focus will be on improving the operational capabilities of the command and units of the Light Infantry Battalion Group (BGLP) of temporary composition, as well as military police platoons and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units.
The goal is to check their ability to act in real time, perform assigned tasks and respond to various challenges during the execution of peace support operations.
At the same time, a re-evaluation of the declared units at the NEL-2 level will be carried out, in accordance with the NATO concept of evaluation of operational capabilities and feedback (OCC E&F).
The assessment will cover seven major capability areas – preparation, planning and design, execution of operations, sustainment, command, control and communications, force protection and information flow.
The external evaluation will be conducted by NATO evaluation teams from the Allied Joint Forces Command in Naples, under the leadership of Senior NATO Mentor Roberto Marciano (OF-4).
In addition to international evaluators, certified evaluators from the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina will participate in the teams, which represents an additional opportunity for the exchange of experiences and the improvement of domestic capacities for training and evaluation.
Through the process of re-evaluation, the level of acquired knowledge and skills of the declared units, their ability to perform assigned tasks and compliance with NATO standards in seven main areas of capability will be verified.
The Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina points out that the “Immediate Response 26” exercise, with its scope, complexity of organization and level of international cooperation, represents one of the key priorities of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of training and evaluation of operational capabilities this year.
