20.06.2024.

Multinational Exercise Platinum Wolf 24 Distinguished Visitors Day

Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić and Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff Gen. Milan Mojsilović have attended the Distinguished Visitors Day for the Multinational Tactical Training Exercise Platinum Wolf 24 in Base South near Bujanovac.

Minister Gašić has congratulated the participants on a successfully conducted exercise and emphasized the importance of this training which provides an opportunity for our personnel to exchange experiences with foreign counterparts. According to him, these exercises help the Serbian Armed Forces to improve their capabilities, interoperability and proficiency so as to be able to take part in multinational peacekeeping operations. He has expressed special thanks to the exercise participants and pointed out that this way Serbia strengthens its partnerships and cooperation with its foreign counterparts.

General Mojsilović has said that the activities carried out by the Serbian Armed Forces as part of multinational military events, and exercises in particular, are stipulated and restricted by the decision made in the previous period by the Serbian Government relating to the execution of exercise activities by the Serbian Armed Forces.

- Based on the demands expressed by our armed forces in regard to interoperability and the need to work in a multinational environment, we have requested from the Government to change that decision. This exercise provides the Serbian Armed Forces with an opportunity to train alongside representatives of other countries, aiming to build the capacity of our armed forces and enhance our capabilities to engage in multinational operations under the United Nations flag and under the auspices of the European Union – said General Mojsilović and added that today’s efforts were dedicated to more dynamic elements of the exercise.

Chief of Staff of the 4th Army Brigade, Colonel Miodrag Mladenović, has said that the objective of the exercise has been fulfilled, and consequently, the operational capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces have been enhanced. Over the past several days, exercise participants have been training for various scenarios, aiming to strengthen interoperability and mutual understanding between members of the Serbian Armed Forces and other participating countries.

Director of the Joint Staff at Ohio National Guard, Brig. Gen. Jeff Watkins, has underlined that the importance of these exercises is reflected in a larger number of training activities and the fact that members of armed forces convey knowledge to each other and learn from their international partners, thereby ensuring closer cooperation.

Members of the armed forces of the United States of America, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain, Italy, Hungary, Romania, North Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia have participated in Exercise Platinum Wolf 24. This year, Bulgaria, Greece and Germany have joined in as observers.

The participants have practiced tactics, techniques and procedures for peacekeeping operations, with particular emphasis on the use of non-lethal weapons.

Platinum Wolf exercises, organized by the Serbian Armed Forces and the United States European Command (EUCOM), have been conducted since 2014, with the aim of strengthening interoperability and mutual understanding between partner nations’ militaries in multinational peace support operations.

The exercise has been attended by members of collegiums of the Minister of Defence and the Chief of the General Staff and representatives of the military diplomatic corps.