Final preparations for Ex Saber Strike 22 are culminating in Slovakia

In the coming days, the Slovak Armed Forces are making final preparations for multinational Exercise Saber Strike 22. After nearly two years of joint planning and with the training audience from 13 countries, the Slovak Armed Forces are ready to facilitate the reception, staging, onward movement and integration (RSOI) of an exercising NATO unit. The objective of the exercise is to test our joint readiness for rapid and effective movements of Allied armed forces in winter conditions, the conduct of defensive operations and related logistics operations.

Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko said: “We have dealt with the idea of participating in Ex Saber Strike ever since 2019, when we first suggested it during our visit to the commander of the U.S. Army Europe. This exercise has already tested our planning processes and, in the coming days, it will also test our ability to support Allied troops along with our combat units in the conduct of defensive operations. Our participation in this exercise is a standard confirmation of our membership in the Alliance and of our joint efforts to safeguard peace and security in Europe.”

In the next days, approximately 2,000 members of the U.S. Armed Forces along with some 600 pieces of combat equipment (CE) and combat support equipment (CSE) will move through the Czech Republic and arrive in Slovakia. Subsequently, they will exercise along with nearly 1,300 members of the Slovak Armed Forces within specifically designated Military Training Areas (MTAs). In addition to Slovakia, the exercise is also scheduled to take place in Germany, Poland, Czechia and in the Baltic states.

Ex Saber Strike is a bi-annual multinational training event which forms a firm part of NATO's Military Training and Exercise Programme (MTEP). For this reason, the training event is not related to the latest raft of measures in response to the Russia-Ukraine stand-off.

After the conclusion of the exercise, all the deployed NATO units will return to their home bases in Germany.

All Covid-19 epidemiological measures will remain in place during the exercise in order to stop the potential spread of COVID-19.