Exercise at Manjača: Quick Response 2016 Confirms BiH Armed Forces Units' Readiness to Operate with EUFOR

Minister of Defence of BiH Marina Pendeš and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union and Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini in Brussels exactly one year ago signed the Agreement on Establishing a Framework for BiH's Participation in EU Crisis Management Operations. The agreement represents a general framework for the participation of both military and civilian personnel of Bosnia and Herzegovina in European Union crisis management operations, it was announced from the BiH MoD, reports the Patria News Agency.

In accordance with this agreement and as one of its results, a joint exercise of the Armed Forces of BiH and EUFOR - Quick Response 2016 will be held in Bosnia and Herzegovina from September 30 to October 5.

Intensive preparations for the exercise, which will be held at the Manjača military training ground, begin on September 26.

Participants in the exercise will include members of the BiH Armed Forces, EUFOR forces, attached units from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Austria, Hungary, as well as a Portuguese company of EUFOR's Tactical Reserve Forces from the NATO KFOR mission.

The Quick Response 2016 exercise is a very important event for the BiH Armed Forces, where the readiness and capability of the Armed Forces of BiH to implement the Agreement on Establishing a Framework for BiH's Participation in EU Crisis Management Operations, with EUFOR forces and soldiers from European partner countries within large military exercises and operations, will be practically demonstrated.

Furthermore, exercise participants will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and gain more experience in patrolling, escorting, convoy movement, medical evacuation, and extraction and evacuation of the wounded, as well as the opportunity to improve their specialized skills for explosive ordnance disposal and extraction of non-combatants.

The Armed Forces of BiH and the EUFOR Multinational Battalion have been cooperating very closely for a long period through joint training and exchange of experiences and skills, which they will apply during the exercise.

Within the EUFOR Operation Althea, soldiers from 15 EU member states and five partner countries are currently participating. Its primary tasks are to provide support to the Armed Forces of BiH in capacity building and training, and BiH's efforts in maintaining a safe and secure environment, while simultaneously supporting the EU's comprehensive and all-encompassing strategy for BiH.