More than 800 members of the Battalion Group of Light Infantry (BGLP) of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH), from September 19th to 23rd of this year at the “Manjaca” military training ground, will implement a five-day exercise “Combined Effort 22”, with the aim of evaluation according to the NATO Concept of operational capabilities – NEL 2.
Assessment NEL 2, through the implementation of that exercise, represents the final training activity of the declared units within the framework of the four-year training plan, with the aim of acquiring interoperability and readiness to work according to NATO standards.
With the successful completion of the evaluation, the AFBiHwould have a light infantry battalion group ready from 2023 available for the NATO force group for future peacekeeping operations around the world, as well as for participation in NATO exercises.
Through the aforementioned exercise, 20 evaluators from 11 NATO and partner countries, as well as 50 evaluators from the AFBiH, will check the ability and readiness of BGLP members to act according to NATO standards.
Namely, in 2018, the AFBiH declared the BGLP, with the aim of achieving interoperability and combat readiness with the armed forces of NATO members. Since 2019, the declared units have successfully passed three levels of evaluation SEL-1 and SEL-2 (by evaluators from the AFBiH) and NEL-1 (by evaluators from NATO and partner countries).
The concept of operational capabilities is a program that builds, achieves and verifies the interoperability and operational capability of declared units for participation in NATO-led operations.
”With the successful implementation of the NATO evaluation level 2 (NEL-2), the BGLP AFBiH would join the NATO pool of forces that includes more than 13,000 soldiers from 15 partner countries, available for future peace operations around the world, as well as for participation in NATO exercises,” it was pointed out in the press release of the Public Relations Office of the Ministry of Defense of BiH.
E.Dz.