SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 12,2008) - Members of the Bosnian State Presidency Željko Komšić and Nebojša Radmanović,as well as Adnan Kapo, Adviser to the Cabinet of the Bosnian President Haris Silajdžić met yesterday in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo with Admiral Mark Fitzgerald, Commander of Allied Joint Force Command in Naples. Admiral was accompanied by General-major Richard Wightman, Commander of the NATO HQ in Bosnia,the Bosnian State Presidency said.
At the meeting, parties discussed Bosnia’s Euro-Atlantic integration, to which all political factors expressed their commitment and consent.
Radmanović emphasized, that in spite of a temporary deadlock, over the last period Bosnia has achieved a lot: signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union, intensified dialogue for full membership in the NATO, signed Agreement on addressing the issue of military movable and immovable property, thus creating the conditions for solving the issue of superfluous armament i.e. immovable property.
Members of the Bosnian State Presidency also underlined that the question of 1000 military facilities in the country and the change of their purpose is connected to the issue of the entire state property and added that those objects could be used for development of economic and other services.
The two parties also exchanged ideas about the function and future of the Office of the International Community's High Representative in Bosnia (OHR); NATO Headquarters in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, in other words, the role of the International Community in Bosnia.
Admiral Fitzgerald expressed his thanks to the Members of the Bosnian State Presidency for their engagement in transparent change of command at the Bosnian Armed Forces, emphasizing the readiness of NATO and the US to further assist Bosnia on its path toward full NATO membership.
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Showing posts with label bosnian armed forces. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bosnian armed forces. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
EUFOR HANDS OVER RESPONSIBILTY FOR WEAPON STORAGE SITES TO BOSNIAN ARMY
SARAJEVO, Bosnia (March 8,2008) – The Commander of the Bosnian Armed Forces General Sifet Podzic and the Commander of the European Union Force in Bosnia (EUFOR),General Ignacio Villalaín attended a ceremony at Rajlovac Barracks of handing over the responsibility of Weapon Storage Sites from EUFOR to the Bosnian Army.The Bosnian Minister of Defence, Selmo Cikotic also attended the ceremony.A Letter of Understanding was signed by both the EUFOR Commander and the Commander of the Bosnian Army.General Villalain stated that this event marks another step forward in successful implementation of the Bosnian defence reform.
He added that EUFOR Verification Unit and Internal Team for Bosnian Armed Forces’ Inspection Team conducted a program of joint inspections of weapons storages from September 2007.
General Villalain stated that the joint inspections conducted all the activities professionally and that all the results have been stored to a database which is available for public.
He emphasized that the Bosnian Army gained the International Community’s respect and added that the EUFOR is now able to transfer a significant part of jurisdiction onto them.
General Podzic said that he hopes that the Bosnian Army will soon take over jurisdiction over other sectors in order to create conditions to “say goodbye to our EUFOR friends and ask them to visit Bosnia as tourists”.
The Bosnian Deputy Defence Minister Igor Crnadak stated that the event is of an enormous significance for Bosnia, for it is a proof that the defence reform has been implemented successfully.
This week, EUFOR and the Bosnian Armed Forces were conducting joint military training at Comanche military base, near the eastern bosnian city of Tuzla.The Hungarian Company and a Platoon of the Bosnian Army soldiers have been learning to work together on operations that include Crowd Riot Control techniques and the rapid extraction of personnel from buildings under threat.
This training is seen to be very significant for both the EUFOR and the Bosnian Army. Earlier in January the Bosnian Armed Forces stated that 2008 would be a year of training and the results of this statement are now being seen.
This exercise tested the capability of both EUFOR and the Bosnian Army.The personnel involved were mainly infantry based and the training enhanced their operational capabilities,the EUFOR stated.
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Monday, February 18, 2008
BOSNIAN DEFENCE OFFICIALS MET WITH EUFOR COMMANDER
SARAJEVO, Bosnia (February 18,2008) - The Bosnian Minister of Defence, Selmo Cikotic and the Commander of the Bosnian Army General Sifet Podzic, visited the European Union Force in Bosnia (EUFOR) Headquarters to attend a meeting with the EUFOR Commander,General Ignacio Villalaín.
During this time they discussed a number of issues regarding the progress made in the transferring of military responsibilities from EUFOR to the Bosnian Army.
Specifically the recent success of the countermining activity was reviewed. Also raised was the issue of weapons and ammunition storage sites.EUFOR and the the Bosnian Army have been conducting joint activities in the process of verification and significant progress has been made recently.
The storage of both weapons and ammunition in Bosnia has caused concerns in the past, but the work that continues in these areas by both EUFOR and the Bosnian Armed Forces will ensure that a safe and secure environment will exist.
The EUFOR Commander has recently visited an ammunition storage site to personally view the methods of the verification teams. He was very pleased with the work and passed on this view during the meeting with Minister Cikotic and General Podzic.
The meeting concluded with a discussion over joint training activities between EUFOR and the Bosnian Army.2008 has been described as a “year of training” for the Bosnian Armed Forces and this meeting has helped in the arrangement of more advanced training plans in support of this objective, EUFOR said.
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During this time they discussed a number of issues regarding the progress made in the transferring of military responsibilities from EUFOR to the Bosnian Army.
Specifically the recent success of the countermining activity was reviewed. Also raised was the issue of weapons and ammunition storage sites.EUFOR and the the Bosnian Army have been conducting joint activities in the process of verification and significant progress has been made recently.
The storage of both weapons and ammunition in Bosnia has caused concerns in the past, but the work that continues in these areas by both EUFOR and the Bosnian Armed Forces will ensure that a safe and secure environment will exist.
The EUFOR Commander has recently visited an ammunition storage site to personally view the methods of the verification teams. He was very pleased with the work and passed on this view during the meeting with Minister Cikotic and General Podzic.
The meeting concluded with a discussion over joint training activities between EUFOR and the Bosnian Army.2008 has been described as a “year of training” for the Bosnian Armed Forces and this meeting has helped in the arrangement of more advanced training plans in support of this objective, EUFOR said.
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Monday, January 28, 2008
EUFOR HANDS OVER MILITARY MOVEMENT CONTROL TO BOSNIAN ARMY
DOBOJ, Bosnia (January 28,2008) - The Commander of the European Union Force in Bosnia (EUFOR), Major General Ignacio Villalaín, the Bosnian Deputy Minister of Defence, Marina Pendes and the Commander of the Bosnian Armed Forces General Sifet Podzic attended at a ceremony at the Bosnian Armed Forces Barracks in Doboj.
The purpose of this ceremony was to formally hand over the responsibility of military movement control from the EUFOR to the Bosnian Armed Forces.A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by both the commander of the EUFOR and the commander of the Bosnian Army.
This allows the Bosnian Armed Forces to take complete control of the military movements of personnel, weapons, and equipment in Bosnia.This makes a hugely significant step in the ongoing Bosnian defence reform process that began in 1995 after the Dayton Peace Accord was signed, the EUFOR said.
The Bosnian Armed Forces continue to play an important role in the integration of the country into the EU and the NATO and these models show the success that can be achieved when the will exists.
The purpose of this ceremony was to formally hand over the responsibility of military movement control from the EUFOR to the Bosnian Armed Forces.A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by both the commander of the EUFOR and the commander of the Bosnian Army.
This allows the Bosnian Armed Forces to take complete control of the military movements of personnel, weapons, and equipment in Bosnia.This makes a hugely significant step in the ongoing Bosnian defence reform process that began in 1995 after the Dayton Peace Accord was signed, the EUFOR said.
The Bosnian Armed Forces continue to play an important role in the integration of the country into the EU and the NATO and these models show the success that can be achieved when the will exists.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
BOSNIAN PRESIDENT ZELJKO KOMSIC MET WITH US AND NATO OFFICIALS
SARAJEVO, Bosnia (January 26, 2008) – The Bosnian President Zeljko Komsic on met with the US Ambassador to Bosnia Charles English and the NATO Sarajevo HQ Commander General Major Richard Wightman.
They discussed Bosnia's progress towards the NATO membership and underlined a need for concrete implementation of the Agreement on Basic Regulative Principles for immobile and mobile military assets, signed on July 12 2007 in order to achieve necessary progress before the upcoming Summit of NATO in Bucharest,Romania.
This meeting was also attended by the Commander of the Bosnian Armed Forces General Sifet Podzic.
They discussed Bosnia's progress towards the NATO membership and underlined a need for concrete implementation of the Agreement on Basic Regulative Principles for immobile and mobile military assets, signed on July 12 2007 in order to achieve necessary progress before the upcoming Summit of NATO in Bucharest,Romania.
This meeting was also attended by the Commander of the Bosnian Armed Forces General Sifet Podzic.
Friday, January 25, 2008
CONFERENCE ON BOSNIAN ARMED FORCES TRAINING OPENED IN SARAJEVO
SARAJEVO, Bosnia (January 25,2008) – Training must become something regular for the Bosnian Armed Forces, and this will be set as priority in the future period, it was stated yesterday in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo at the opening of the first annual Conference on the Bosnian Armed Forces Training.
Goal of this conference is to review new challenges which exist in the training process and assess possibilities of realizing set goals.
Head of the Bosnian Armed Forces HQ General Sifet Podzic confirmed that previous two years were poor regarding the training, which is why there was a priority to form new units and commands.
Until now, there was no training organization system, but only ad hoc trainings, from mission to mission, concluded Podzic saying that this was exactly the purpose of this conference.
At the conference we shall define the areas of the training process and eventual requests to the Bosnian Ministry of Defence and other institutions related with fulfilling the criteria and demands of the training.
”We want to change conditions of the training process and it will be given a priority”, stated General Podzic. He underlined that the training represents a continuance of defense sector reform and transition process of the Bosnian Armed Forces completed in the previous year.
Podzic also stated that units and nominated compounds designated for operations which contribute to peace keeping have to be trained and dedicated in completing the mission in the best possible manner.
”This however, does not mean that we should have lower demands from others. Training and responsibility must be imperative of all members of the Bosnian Armed Forces”,General Podzic said.
Education of the Bosnian Armed Forces members representing Bosnia in missions or daily activities of international military cooperation units must be more demanding and of better quality,he said.
Goal of this conference is to review new challenges which exist in the training process and assess possibilities of realizing set goals.
Head of the Bosnian Armed Forces HQ General Sifet Podzic confirmed that previous two years were poor regarding the training, which is why there was a priority to form new units and commands.
Until now, there was no training organization system, but only ad hoc trainings, from mission to mission, concluded Podzic saying that this was exactly the purpose of this conference.
At the conference we shall define the areas of the training process and eventual requests to the Bosnian Ministry of Defence and other institutions related with fulfilling the criteria and demands of the training.
”We want to change conditions of the training process and it will be given a priority”, stated General Podzic. He underlined that the training represents a continuance of defense sector reform and transition process of the Bosnian Armed Forces completed in the previous year.
Podzic also stated that units and nominated compounds designated for operations which contribute to peace keeping have to be trained and dedicated in completing the mission in the best possible manner.
”This however, does not mean that we should have lower demands from others. Training and responsibility must be imperative of all members of the Bosnian Armed Forces”,General Podzic said.
Education of the Bosnian Armed Forces members representing Bosnia in missions or daily activities of international military cooperation units must be more demanding and of better quality,he said.
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