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Slovak NATO Response Force (NRF)

Slovak EU Battle Group

The Slovak Armed Forces contributed to the building of an EU BG with the Czech Republic – CZE-SVK BG EU (on stand-by between 1 July – 31 December 2009) and were ready to be operationally committed under POL-DEU-LAT-LIT-SVK BG EU (on stand-by between 1 January – 30 June 2010). Slovakia’s troop contribution to this EU BattleGroup is an expression of active involvement in furthering the European Defence and Security Policy. The contribution of the Slovak Republic to POL-DEU-LAT-LIT-SVK BG EU marks Slovakia’s second initiati-ve in support of the EU Defence and Security Policy. A total of 347 personnel participated in the EU BG, along with their vehicles and equipment.

The EU Battle Groups are not permanent or standing formations. Rather, following the blueprint of the NATO Response Force (NRF), they are formed on a rotational principle, that is to say, NATO member countries coordinate their troop contributions on behalf of the EU. One stand-by phase lasts six months. Over this single rotation period, the EU has two Battle Groups at its disposal.

A battle group has up to 2,000 troops, with land forces making up its principal component. The group is built around a mechanized battalion-size unit, supported by combat support and combat service supportunits. Beside this, depending on the nature and size of mission, it may be reinforced by other operational elements, including, notably, Navy, Air Force, and Special Forces units.

The EU BGs must be equipped and trained so that they are deployable in virtually all climatic regions within the strategic range of 6,000km from Brussels. However, in practice, the EU BGs are truly globally deployable forces which may be dispatched anywhere in the world. The area of their deployment is decided upon by the EU, whose decision must be approved by the EU Council,whereupon the troops are deployable within 10 days’ notice. With regard to the scope of their missions, they are mandated to conduct stabilization and reconstruction operations, security sector reform, conflict prevention, humanitarian operations, evacuation operations and separation of belligerent parties by force.

On Friday, 18 December 2009 was held a ceremony to mark the completion of the Slovak component of POL-DEU-LAT-LIT-SVK BG EU. This stood as the culmination of more than three years of concerted training, combining Polish, German, Latvian, Lithuanian and Slovak troops under the unified command of the European Union. The ceremony took place in the grounds of the 22nd Mechanized Battalion in Michalovce and was attended by Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Baska, Slovak Chief of Defence General Lubomir Bulik,Commander-in-Chief of POL-DEU-LAT-LIT-SVK BG EU. Brig. Gen. Slawomir Wojciechowski, as well as by other MoD representatives, invited guests and, last but not least, roughly 350 soldiers from the EU Battle Group itself.

In his opening speech, the Slovak Defence Minister stated: "I’m convinced that you’ve been most honorably committed to meeting all the tasks and goals set for the successful formation of the EU BG. That being said, we are in a position to declare successfully accomplished those commitments which our country has over the past years adopted as part of the Slovak Government Goals and the EU Battle Group strategy."

The Defence Minister went on to express his conviction that the Polish-led POL-DEU-LAT-LIT-SVK BG EU, scheduled to be on operational stand-by in the first half of 2010, will ‘successfully perform its missions duringthe six-month period, however difficult and demanding they may be.’ Speaking about the readiness of Slovak personnel, Brig. Gen. Slawomir Wojciechowski said: ‘I have co-operated with Slovak soldiers abroad before, and my perception of them has always been that of well-trained professionals. For this reason, I have no doubts that I’ll be satisfied with their performance in the coming months.’

On the issue of military training and personal equipment, Slovak Chief of Defence General Lubomir Bulik said that ‘it is comparable to that of other armies involved in the Battle Group’. In this regard, he highlighted our new uniforms with digital camouflage patterns and a new modular webbing system.