The “Peace Shield” exercise in a new edition

CHISINAU, June 21, 2023 — The National Army is conducting, between June 19 and 30 this year, the “Peace Shield 2023” exercise at the National Army training center.

According to Colonel Sorin Bacalu, interim head of the Joint Training and Doctrine Directorate, during this year’s exercise, the entire force of the 22nd “Blue Helmets” peacekeeping battalion will be evaluated in accordance with the Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC). The soldiers are checked when they fulfill the missions specific to the theaters of international peacekeeping operations.

In this context, the peacekeepers will be examined when carrying out patrol, convoy and escort missions, the search of vehicles at checkpoints, ensuring the security of strategic objectives, medical evacuation, as well as the provision of first aid.

The military unit will be tested by national and international evaluators from France, Turkey, Morocco, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Georgia, Azerbaijan, the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

NOTE: The Operational Concept Capability (OCC) is a collaborative tool within the Partnership for Peace Program (PfP), which aims to implement Western standards in the training and evaluation of declared units.

OCC certification is a mandatory condition for the participation of the National Army in peacekeeping missions under the auspices of the UN, including KFOR in Kosovo and UNIFIL in Lebanon.

The National Army joined the OCC in 2007.