Bosnia received 14 specialised Humvee vehicles from the US government as well as a military infirmary at the Rajlovac barracks from the United Kingdom, on Wednesday, at a ceremony near Sarajevo attended by Bosnia's Defence Minister Ssifet Podzic, US Ambassador Eric Nelson as well as British Ambassador Matt Field,
The donation consists of US multi-purpose vehicles (HMMWV) “Humvee” – five M-1152 ambulance configuration vehicles, three armoured M-1152A1, three semi-armoured M-1152A1 vehicles and three command and control M-1165A1's.
It was said that these vehicles complete the US Government's donation consisting of 24 Humvees shipped in March 2017 and 20 vehicles shipped in July 2019, whose total value is around $9 million.
“The American donation will accelerate the realization of our primary foreign policy goal, the integration of our country into Euro-Atlantic structures,” said Minister Podzic at the ceremony which was also attended by Commander of the NATO Headquarters in Bosnia, Brigadier General William Edwards as well as Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of BiH, Colonel General Senad Masovic and associates.
“I also see five specialized ambulances here, which fit perfectly with the infirmary we are opening today and which has been renovated and equipped as part of a project supported by the UK Government. Our goal is to improve the working conditions of sanitary authorities in order to achieve the capabilities of ROLE-2 and provide quality health care to all members of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Armed Forces within our capacity,” Podzic concluded.
On this occasion, US Ambassador Nelson said the Humvee vehicles, as well as the renovated infirmary, best describe the essence of the North Atlantic Alliance.
“NATO is like a family of like-minded peoples working together for the common good, as we are witnessing here today. The United States is donating off-road ambulances with stretchers, which further contribute to improving the capacity of the infirmary, which has been made possible by the UK Government,” Ambassador Nelson noted.
British Ambassador Field pointed out that this activity is part of broad and continuous ties of the United Kingdom with the Armed Forces and the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He especially thanked the staff of Bosnia's Armed Forces and colleagues from NATO who did a significant job in repairing the building and launching the official registration of the clinic.
“Today, our friends from the United States donated a significant fleet of highly mobile vehicles, a number of which will be used as ambulances. The vehicles will be complementary to the new facilities and provide safety to members of the Armed Forces while performing their duties, knowing that they will receive the necessary care and attention in case of illness or injury,” Field concluded.
