Last week training on ammunition life-cycle management was completed for 12 high-ranking officers and officials of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The training took place from November 24 to December 12, 2013 and was implemented by the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with the support of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina within the scope of the Explosive Ordnance and Remnants of War(EXPLODE) project wholly funded by the European Union.
The aim of the training was to improve technical knowledge of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina related to contemporary standards for ammunition life-cycle management. The training was held in two modules. The first module, lasting five days, was held in the UK, carried out by the company DHA Global. During the training, participants had the opportunity to visit the largest military arms and ammunition storage site in Europe at Kineton where the practical aspects of the training took place.
“The Senior Officers’ Training on Stockpile Management represents an important segment of the overall ammunition disposal process. Thanks to UNDP’s support, the officials of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina had a chance to be introduced to contemporary standards in stockpile management through theoretical and practical training modules. It is of extreme importance that participants in the training attended an exercise for application of new standards in the context of the specific military storage site practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I would like to thank UNDP for organizing this training programme and the EU for its financial support”, stated Colonel Perić, an expert advisor for destruction of military surpluses in the Armed Forces of BiH.
As the training was being conducted in the UK, 25 students, officers and non-commissioned officers of the Armed Forces also had the opportunity, by direct video link at the United Nations House in Sarajevo, to listen to lectures from leading experts in this field. The lectures covered a variety of topics, from the storage, management and planning related to ammunition stockpiles to the development of storage site decommissioning plans, prevention of ammunition accidents, waste disposal and ammunition destruction.
The second training module was held in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a focus on additional practical application of the newly acquired knowledge. Participants of the training visited the Jahorinski Potok storage site where they had a practical exercise on ammunition life-cycle management with a focus on decommissioning of ammunition storage sites and the return of the location to local authorities for further use. Subsequently, over the next month, a set of training modules will be held for an additional 20 officers and NCOs, conducted by the graduates of this course, to ensure that new practices in ammunition life-cycle management are adopted at all levels of decision-making.
Project EXPLODE was designed and established to develop and conduct military logistics operations and to support the efforts of the BiH Ministry of Defense in management processes for surplus ammunition and explosive ordnance, as well as to prevent uncontrolled explosions of old and unstable ammunition that may have far-reaching consequences for the security of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The project is funded by the European Union under the Instrument for Stability (IfS) in the amount of Euros 3,837,830. Over a period of 28 months, the project will be implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Nations Development Programme and the OSCE Mission to BiH.
