prijava
MANJAČA, May 23 (FENA) - Members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States Army carried out a demonstration exercise yesterday at Manjača range as part of a joint military exercise "Immediate Response 21" on the Day of the Dignitaries.
The military exercise is being held at the Manjača and Glamoč training grounds and at Dubrava barracks, from May 17 to June 2. It is headed by the US Army Europe and Africa Command (USEUCOM). About 500 members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 700 American soldiers take part in this bilateral exercise in BiH.
The "Defender Europe 21" exercise sends a clear message to potential aggressors that the United States will stand not only behind NATO members, but also behind all other partners and allies, including BiH.
This year's exercise involves 26 countries, including the United States, and about 28,000 members of a multinational force focused on building "operational readiness and interoperability between NATO allies and partners."
Minister of Defense of BiH, Sifet Podžić, attended the exercise and said that all the challenges that the exercise required were overcome and the goals were met. He congratulated the participants on the successfully completed tasks.
The Commander of the US Ground Forces for Europe and Africa, General Christopher Cavoli, expressed satisfaction with the progress made in BiH, adding that it was not easy to organize such an exercise and that the BiH Armed Forces did a good job.
“During the exercise, we showed real interoperability. I had binoculars and it was difficult for me to recognize who were members of the BiH Armed Forces and who were the members of the US Army. These exercises are important for BiH in order to contribute to the preservation of the territorial integrity of BiH and stability in the region,” he emphasized.
Ambassador of the United States of America to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eric Nelson, emphasized that this is the largest engagement of US Army troops since the EUFOR mission and an indicator of preserving stability and peace in BiH.
He underlined that strength always lies in unity, and such exercises build interoperability and ensure what we call security, adding that it was laying the foundations on which BiH began to build its security.
“The doors of NATO are open, the path is clear, and what we see today is strengthening of the partnership between NATO and BiH in terms of implementing reforms,” said Nelson, adding that the United States is proud of BiH's progress and will remain a committed and strong partner of BiH on its path to Euro-Atlantic integration.
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