THE EUROPEAN – SECURITY AND DEFENCE UNION
JEYRAN 2019 – a successful CBRN counter-terrorism exercise
A field report from Uzbekistan by Nannette Cazaubon
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n November 2019, together with Editor-in-Chief Hartmut Bühl, I took a flight to the capital of Uzbekistan in Central Asia. We were invited to participate as observers – me as a journalist, Hartmut as an expert – in the CBRN counter-terrorism field exercise “Jeyran”. Curious to learn how such a large international exercise with 200 participants from Uzbekistan and partner countries, as well as international observers, would be organised and what its outcome would be, we accepted the invitation. The three-day exercise was mounted within the framework of the dynamic European CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence Initiative (EU CBRN CoE), established ten years ago with the aim of fostering national, regional and interregional cooperation worldwide to better prevent CBRN incidents or disasters.
(Tashkent, November 2019) During the flight to Tashkent we have time to study the programme in more detail. It sounds promising: the participants will play a variety of roles – active players, observers and evaluators – in four realistic scenarios simulating the release of biological and chemical agents by terrorists. We learn that almost a year of preparation has gone into combining the different scenarios of the “Jeyran” exercise organised by the European Commission’s DG DEVCO and the Government of Uzbekistan. There is no doubt that terrorists today have the knowledge and willingness to use chemical and
During the opening session
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photo: © Ministry of Emergency Situations/Uzbekistan
biological agents. A large joint field exercise such as “Jeyran”, with international participants and observers, is timely!
First Day Opening session On the morning of the exercise’s first day, we are taken by bus, together with the other international participants and observers, from the city of Tashkent to the premises of the Institute of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Uzbekistan, near the capital. We are warmly welcomed by Bakhtiyor Gulyamov, acting Chairman of the State Committee of Industrial Safety of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Head of the Regional Secretariat for Central Asia of the EU CBRN CoE Initiative. Mr Gulyamov, who has coordinated the preparation and implementation of the field exercise, states that terrorism has become a global issue and that the organisation of joint exercises “effectively promotes discipline, efficient time management and development of the necessary professional skills that will later help to correctly and efficiently respond to various CBRN threats”. The overall goal of planning for emergency preparedness and response is to ensure that adequate capabilities are in place and emergency response teams are sufficiently equipped and trained. This is highlighted by Shavkat Samatov, representative of the Cabinet of Ministers, who welcomes us in the name of
