Military policemen undergo pre-deployment training for Op EUNAVFOR MED IRINI

Members of the SVK Military Police are undergoing training for Op EUNAVFOR MED IRINI on the River Danube at the Port of Bratislava and at a divers' base at Lake Senec. This is the national pre-deployment training (PDT) programme for the SVK Military Police Boarding Team to operate from a German Navy frigate in the Mediterranean Sea from March 2022, if an extension to the existing mandate is approved by Parliament.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď visited the national PDT training programme, saying: “The Slovak Republic is interested in playing its part in strengthening the security and stability of the European Union across partner countries and unstable regions. The aim of Op EUNAVFOR MED IRINI is to enforce the UN Security Council-imposed arms embargo on Libya to stop illegal arms trafficking by monitoring, boarding and inspecting suspicious vessels.”

The head of the MOD added, the Slovak military seeks a continuation of its efforts as, in the past, two SVK Military Police Boarding Team rotations served with Op EUNAVFOR MED SOPHIA to counter the trafficking of migrants from the African countries to Europe against the backdrop of the migration crisis.

Reflecting the currency and relevance of Op IRINI, the ongoing PDT training programme is aimed at water operations and boarding tactics. “We received feedback from the previous two Boarding Team rotations and we know exactly what they missed out on training. A majority agreed that more training needed to be conducted in the water, especially speedboat movements and boarding operations. To this end, we make good use of tug boats on the River Danube. If you do not try it out while fully kitted up with all equipment required, it is far from easy,” said Capt Vladimír Telesnický, Chief of the 2nd Military Police Crisis Management Group.

Capt Vladimír Telesnický made it clear that the gear of a Boarding Team member weighs about 30kg. Therefore, any movement of a fully equipped soldier in the water is very difficult even for highly proficient swimmers. A total of 15 MP personnel are undergoing the PDT training, although only two five-member Boarding Teams along with a liaison officer will deploy on Op IRINI. This means that 11 SVK Military Police personnel will take part in the operation.

The national PDT training programme in Slovakia is scheduled to run from March to September 2021 under the leadership of instructors from the Training Centre Lešť, the Gen M. R. Štefánik Armed Forces Academy and the Police River Operations Section Bratislava. The latter offered its water training area at the Port of Bratislava and on the River Danube and made a vessel available for training the teams assigned to Visit, Board, Search and Seize (VBSS) duties. Phase 2 of the training will be undertaken by the team members at a Bundeswehr Navy base in Germany.

Today, two SVK servicemen are posted to the EU Operational Headquarters (OHQ) in Rome, which exercises command over Op EUNAVFOR MED IRINI, based on the mandate approved by Parliament in October 2020. The SVK Security Council, the Cabinet and Parliament must still give consent to the proposed extended mandate for SVK involvement in Op EUNAVFOR MED IRINI with 11 Military Police personnel. The SVK Military Police Boarding Team is expected to be deployed in March 2022.