The only reason why the helicopters of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are not engaged in extinguishing the fire is the failure to make a political decision in the Presidency of BiH, ie the non-vote of the member of the Presidency of BiH from the Serbian people Milorad Dodik about the use of helicopters, said today Sifet Podzic, Minister of Defense.
“The AF BiH has ready helicopters for this, otherwise regular, mission of the AF BiH and we also have ready and very experienced crews who have participated in firefighting in these areas for years, where they are still burning today,” said Podzic.
He added that the helicopters of the BiH Armed Forces participated in extinguishing the fires in the area of Travnik and Kupres during the year, and that several interventions were carried out within the MEDEVAK missions.
According to him, two or three days ago, the inspection was carried out by the commander of the NATO headquarters in Sarajevo, Eric Folkestad, an experienced pilot on UH-1 helicopters who are ready to put out the fire and determined that the crews and helicopters are ready for this mission.
“We remain ready and when the political decision is made, we will act,” Podzic said.