Over 800 members of the BiH Armed Forces, declared for future military operations, are participating in the implementation of the "Combined Effort 2022" exercise at the Manjaca military training ground, for the purpose of assessing operational capabilities according to the NATO concept.

In this exercise, the Light Infantry Battalion Group, the Military Police Platoon, and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Platoon will be evaluated. The Light Infantry Battalion Group is so far the largest unit that a partner country has declared in the NATO Pool Forces.

With the successful implementation of the assessment, the Light Infantry Battalion Group would join the NATO Pool of Forces that number more than 13,000 soldiers from 15 partner countries, available for future peace operations around the world, as well as for participation in NATO exercises.

The Commander of the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, Brigadier General Pamela McGaha, said that the members of the Light Infantry Battalion Group are marking the culmination of four years of training and testimony of hard work and commitment to the mission of their defence forces.

“NATO advisers and BiH representatives are coming this week from Slovenia, Turkey, Great Britain, the USA, along with representatives of the partner countries of Austria, Ireland, and Serbia, to name just a few of them,” said McGaha.

Bosnia’s Defence Minister Sifet Podzic together with the BiH Presidency member Zeljko Komsic wished success to the soldiers and officers who are conducting this exercise. Komsic stressed the lack of political support in anything for the Armed Forces, but also their ability to overcome such challenges.

The task of this exercise is to check the degree of combat readiness of the units to plan and implement full-spectrum operations in real time and space in accordance with NATO standards at the NEL-2 level.

The goal is to maintain and improve the achieved level of inoperability and combat readiness of the declared units.