A several days’ long military exercise “Platinum Wolf 2014” was completed at the “Jug” (South) military base near Bujanovac, in which, in addition to members of our Army, the armed forces of six more countries participated.  

Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic said that he expected that the military base would become a focal point for training units for participating in multinational operations, due to which the expansion of its capacities was planned.

Defense Minister Gasic, along with the Chief of Staff of the Serbian Army Ljubisa Dikovic and the U.S. Ambassador Michael Kirby, attended the presentation of the "Platinum Wolf 2014" military exercise at the "Jug" military base near Bujanovac. He said that a 50 hectares increase in the area of the base had been planned and that the construction of a sports hall and a few training centers in the base had been planned, too.

“The second mission of the Army of Serbia is the preparation for the preservation of world peace. We expect that the “Jug” base will relatively soon become one of the international training centers for for multinational operations.  Today we are pleased to have with us the armed forces of Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, Romania and Azerbaijan. Of course, members of the National Guard of Ohio are here, too, who work together with us regarding the training of these units, which will relatively quickly be sent off  to any of the 134 missions that the Serbian army has around the world, "said Bratislav Gasic, Defense Minister.

The U.S. Ambassador Michael Kirby said that he was glad that the Army of Serbia was becoming a modern army with the help of the United States, which funded and logistically helped the “Jug” base.

“What we see here is the cooperation of the Serbian military with the armies of the region, and with that located a little further than that.  Therefore, we see them involved together and trained to participate in peacekeeping missions around the world, for which there is a growing need now.  I am here today because the U.S.A helps the further development of the “Jug” base complex, so that we could help units move from here, which contribute to preservation of peace in the world," said Michael Kirby, the U.S. Ambassador. 

The Chief of Staff of the Serbian Army Ljubisa Dikovic said that the goal of the exercise had been fully achieved, especially in terms of testing the capability for performing joint tasks in the multinational peacekeeping operations in the world.

“So I think that the goal of the exercise was fully realized, that we managed, over the past ten or so days, to exchange experiences and the content of the training, which is very important when you prepare people for participation in the operations", said Gen. Ljubisa Dikovic, the Chief of Staff of the Serbian Army.

272 members of the armed forces of Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Macedonia, Azerbaijan and the USA took part in the tactical exercise, which  members of the Serbian Army (VS) had created with members of the National Guard of Ohio.  

Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic said at the military exercise that the Serbian Army would continue attempting to sell its property that wasn’t used and that hadn’t been sold until then. 

“The Army of Serbia's priority is to provide housing for its members and to offer the buildings that it doesn’t use, which are in the places with no military units, to the local self-governments, so that they could use them and put them into order ", said Minister Gasic.  

Source: Kopernikus TV and Coordination Body