The Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH), Major General Ivica Jerkic, together with the Chief Non-commissioned officer (NCO) of the Joint Staff of the AFBiH, Ensign 1st Class Mario Bagaric, participated in the opening ceremony of the First Annual Conference of NCO Academies and Schools within the NATO Defence Education Enhancement Programme (NATO DEEP), which takes place from May 31st to June 2sd 2022 at the Hotel ‘Europe’ in Sarajevo.
This conference is organized by NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), co-organized by the Ministry of Defense of BiH and the AFBiH.
The mentioned conference is attended by about 100 participants from NATO member countries and partner countries.
Namely, the aim of the conference is to present educational programs and courses provided by educational institutions for the training of NCOs and to consider the framework for the implementation of exchange programs for instructors and students, in order to expand bilateral and multilateral cooperation between educational institutions.
In his address, Major General Jerkic mentioned that cooperation between military educational institutions is an important step in improving interoperability, and thus in facing the common security challenges of today.
”By strengthening our military institutions, we are making an important contribution to NATO’s efforts to build stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond,” Major General Jerkic pointed out and wished all conference participants successful work.
The NATO DEEP program is an important partnership mechanism in the field of military cooperation and support for defense system reforms, and was developed as an initiative of the Partnership for Peace program, and seeks to help partner countries adapt military education to their needs, with the support of NATO experts. The AFBiH have been involved in NATO DEEP activities since 2018.
