Army assisting the population, arrival of US Armed Forces cadets expected

The "Joint Effort 2014" military exercise of the Armed Forces of BiH and EUFOR is in its third day, providing assistance to civil authorities and the population in clearing the aftermath of catastrophic floods that have hit Bosnia and Herzegovina, the BiH Ministry of Defence announced.

Yesterday in Željezno Polje, where 60 members of the Armed Forces of BiH and 30 members of EUFOR from the Austrian contingent were engaged in road repairs, civilian population joined in, which represents great encouragement and motivation for the army to continue its selfless engagement in providing assistance to civil authorities and the population in repairing the consequences of this major natural disaster, according to the BiH MoD.

Today, activities are being carried out in the municipalities of Doboj, Orašje, Šamac, Odžak, Maglaj, Lopare, Zenica, Bijeljina, Lukavac, Šekovići, and at the locations of Golubinja and Biljevina, where a total of over 600 members of the Armed Forces of BiH and over 100 motor vehicles and engineering machines will be engaged.

The focus of today's activities is in the municipalities of Doboj and Maglaj, and it is planned that after the completion of activities in these municipalities, the zone of operations will be primarily transferred to Posavina, for projects that local communities have nominated as possible support.

The commander of the 5th Infantry Brigade and director of the exercise, Brigadier Kenan Dautović, and the Chief of Staff of EUFOR, Brigadier General Andras Szus, expressed satisfaction with the joint engagement so far at this morning's briefing, and immediately after the briefing, they proceeded to Command Air Reconnaissance towards the municipalities of Zenica, Šamac, Doboj, Orašje, and Bijeljina.

Incidentally, the arrival of 22 cadets of the US Armed Forces is also expected today, who will join the joint activities during tomorrow. This assistance from the US Armed Forces cadets symbolically shows the importance that NATO and the US Armed Forces attach to the joint exercise "Joint Effort 2014," the BiH MoD announced, reported by Patria.