Intelligent Energy and Firefighting (June 18) The previous NATO exercise, with a similar focus of activity as was the focus of Capable Logistician 2013, was held in 2004. Compared to the previous exercise, the international exercise held in the Training area of the Military District in Lešť is three times larger. According to Dr. Susanne Michaelis, the Head of the multinational team of experts from Germany, Great Britain, the USA and Netherlands, the exercise is to be used to enhance interoperability, energetic efficiency and effectiveness in NATO environment, e.g. through usage of an intelligent power generator, solar and wind power generators or LED lighting. Members of the armed forces of the USA, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Romania, the Czech Republic and Bosnia and Herzegovina seek water. Relying on special equipment, they sink wells, treat water and provide for its storage and transportation. The Slovak and Czech soldiers use their Mi-17 and 171 helicopters to perform tasks of air surveillance and monitoring, strategic or tactical airlift or transportation of materiel by helicopters under sling, and even the tasks of extinguishing fires using Bambi buckets.
● Challenges of the 21st century that the European air forces are facing – that was the topic of the European Air Chiefs Conference (EURAC) in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the SR Brig. Gen. Miroslav Korba for the first time took part in the Conference as a full member. A discussion was held on many aspects of enhancing security and harmonization of air traffic in civilian and military aviation in the context of Single European Sky, where military aviation starts to perceive decline from the positions held so far. A part of EURAC was an air show organized on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Royal Netherland Air Force (RNL AF). As for a static display, the Armed Forces of the SR were represented by the L-39 aircraft from the mixed wing in Sliač and AN-26 from the transportation wing in Kuchyňa. Next year the Conference will be held in Brunner, as a part of the celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Swiss aviation.
Objectives of Exercise Met
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(June 20) The exercise Capable Logis!cian 2013 stands as tes!mony to the ability and poten!al of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic and armed forces of other countries to cooperate and share their speciÞc capabili!es, as concluded by the Minister of Defence Mar!n Glváč a#er having watched dynamic demonstra!ons in the Military Training Area in Lešť, in the presence of the President Ivan Gašparovič. “What we view as par!cularly signiÞcant is a promo!on of this unique training facility, which we plan to further develop so that we could propose possibili!es for foreign armies and other assets to train there, since there are not many training facili!es in Europe that could compare to this one in terms of surface area,” added the Head of the Slovak Department of Defence. According to him, the fact that the largest logis!cs exercise in the past ten years was held in the training area in Lešť shall be viewed as an excellent opportunity to promote Slovakia within NATO. The President Ivan Gašparovič, who is also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the SR, appreciated the fact that the par!cipa!ng countries proved their capacity to cooperate and harmonize their ac!vi!es, and was impressed by their esprit de corps, which they demonstrated when execu!ng orders in model situa!ons. According to the Czech Minister of Defence Vlas!mil Picek, dynamic demonstra!ons were very realis!c. “I am glad to see that coordina!on and compa!bility of individual assets within the Alliance works in prac!cal terms,” he said. The Commander of the Mul!na!onal Logis!cs Coordina!on Centre (MLCC) Col. Miroslav Pelikán added that the exercise was an important milestone for mul!na!onal logis!cs capabili!es, which are essen!al for moun!ng coali!on opera!ons. “This is the largest exercise of its kind. We prac!ce the main logis!c capabili!es like supplying water, fuels and ammuni!on, providing for repair and maintenance of equipment, recovery of equipment, movement and transporta!on,” he explained. Capable Logis!cian 2013 simulates a conßict between two countries, when the UN Security Council requested that NATO troops be deployed. The exercise is held from 8 June to 26 June in the Military Training Area in Lešť. More than 1,700 soldiers from 35 countries have prac!ced coordina!on of the joint logis!cs procedures.
● On Monday, in an assembly area where members of the CBRN Battalion Rožňava lined up, the Commander of the Battalion Lt. Col. Oliver Toderiška announced the Order of the President of the SR No. 3/2013 on lending a historical name to the Military Unit 7945. The CBRN Battalion, ad interim styled Gemer – Malohont Battalion of Chemical, Biological and Radiological Protection, was awarded the honour of the historical name for upholding military traditions of the units dislocated in Rimavská Sobota and Rožňava. Lending the historical name shall contribute to the further strengthening of cooperation between the state administration bodies and the local government bodies. ● The Training, Analysis and Supply Centre (VAaZC) of CBRN in Čereňany was on 18 June visited by specialists from the Israeli Home Front Command under the command of CBRN units’ Commander Col. Ramtin Sebti, who was accompanied by Maj. Max Goldenberg. They arrived to explore possibilities for the Israeli troops to undergo training with real toxic chemical substances in the premises of the CBRN Training and Testing Centre based in Zemianske Kostoľany. The guests were shown round the premises by the Chief of the Materiel Management Centre (CMM) VAaZC of CBRN in Čereňany Maj. Igor Štefko and the CBRN Battalion Commander in Rožňava Lt. Col. Oliver Toderiška. Colonel Sebti evinced interest in the joint training of commanding officers in CBRN units – namely the joint training of SIBCRA teams, decontamination units and others.
Activities Continue (June 21) An indispensable part of the exercise Capable Logistician 2013 is the one focused on functions, when members of the armed forces carry out functions of Reception, Staging and Onward Movement (RSOM) of personnel and equipment. These functions are performed by professionals from Slovakia, Austria and Poland. Specialists from the field of personnel and materiel management are engaged in activities linked with registration of persons and equipment, holding introductory briefings on how to move in the training area and deal with issues relating to an everyday life in the area of deployment of multinational forces. Tasks of repair and maintenance as well as tasks of recovery of equipment are addressed by the function M&R (Maintenance and Recovery). It focuses on activities relating to recovery of equipment stuck in a rugged and impassable terrain. Different types of military assets, including the Slovak containers specially designed for repairing equipment, are used to repair the damaged equipment.
Identify and Tackle Problems (June 19) The Joint Logistics Support Group headed by the Italian Colonel Maurizio Iacomo exercised control over the logistics operations within the exercise Capable Logistician. Colonel Ján Žarnovický, Commander of the Joint Logistics Support Group in Trenčín, is his Deputy and the Czech Colonel Jaroslav Schőn is the Chief of Staff of the JLSG. One of the tasks to meet is to check and verify compatibility of equipment, materiel and operating procedures of national units. “The exercise should contribute to identification of problems in this particular field so that we could do our best to ensure seamless logistic support of operations in a multinational environment. Our goal is an effective cooperation in the area of operations and cutting down the operating costs incurred in relation to personnel and equipment. Our aim is to learn to share all the vital logistic capabilities in a multinational environment,” stressed Col. Žarnovický.
Cooperation Vital to Success (June 20) Troops from 35 countries participating in the largest ever logistics exercise Capable Logistician could be hardly performing tasks without supplies of ammunition or fuel. Soldiers from the Czech and Slovak Republics, Austria and France provide for the operation of the field ammunition store build in compliance with NATO standards. They fulfill their tasks under the command of the Czech Major Jaroslav Unger. His Slovak colleague, Major Milan Skitka, described in detail the tasks they are charged with: “They are the tasks linked with issuance and distribution of ammunition. The ammunition is transported in and out of the area by road and by air. The Slovak and Czech helicopters transport ammunition under sling. When the security situation deteriorated, the multinational team was faced with the task of evacuation of the ammunition depot. For the Slovak party, the troops performing tasks in the ammunition store are mainly the members of the logistics support battalion based in Topoľčany. The German field depot of fuels, with the top laboratory designated for control of fuels being a part of the depot, significantly contributes to the fact that more than 600 pcs of equipment are readily available to be used when needed. The Commander
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of the depot, First Lieutenant Fiorentino Alessio reports that the laboratory crew has three times been on tour to ISAF, Afghanistan. Members of the Hungarian depot under the command of Capt. Gergely Besenyi store fuels for military equipment, getting assistance from the American troops. The Lithuanians provide for issuance of fuels for vehicles. The international team under the command of the Polish Lt. Col. Woj-ciech Grzybowski plays an important role in reception, staging and onward movement (RSOM), starting from reception of persons through provision of accommodation and boarding to inventory of military equipment and materiel during the stage of deployment to operation. The Polish, Czech, Croatian and Slovak military policemen, within the earmarked portion of the NATO Multinational Military Police Battalion under the command of the Czech Lt. Col. Roman Gotfried performed tasks of force protection in the training area and tasks of protection of convoys, and fulfilled tasks of checking personnel and equipment at check points. Our military policemen participated in escorting convoys of participants from abroad. The end of the exercise shall by no means be a relief for them. They will be faced with next tasks with respect to the departure of foreign participants from Slovakia.
June 17 - 23, 2013