Exercise Ground Pepper 2014

On 9 October, a technical agreement to hold a joint military exercise was signed by the participating parties at the General Staff of the SVK Armed Forces in Bratislava. This move marked the fulfilment of the last condition, before launching the redeployment of troops and military hardware to the Lešť Training Area. On behalf of the SVK party to the agreement, the document was signed by the 2nd Vice-Chief of the General Staff, Maj Gen Pavel Macko. The other participating parties were represented by U.S. and Czech defence attachés, commanders of troops to participate in the exercise from Poland and Hungary, and Deputy Chief of Staff Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFC-B). “I believe that our joint effort will bear its fruit during the exercise and that we will demonstrate our readiness to fulfil the commitments made upon our entry into the Alliance,” said Maj Gen Macko after the signing of the agreement. The exercise, involving the V4 countries and the United States, will be held at the the Lešť and Kamenica nad Cirochou Training Areas on 13 – 22 October. It will bring together 900 professional soldiers, representing different military branches. The exercise aims to test the readiness of NATO forces to conduct joint operations in an environment simulating a contemporary high-intensity military conflict.