Weapons and Ammunition management is one of the most important tasks for EUFOR’s Joint Military Affairs Branch (JMA) and EUFOR’s Capacity Building and Training Division (CBTD). There is a major effort to reduce the quantity of Weapons and Ammunition Storage Sites in BiH, so it is necessary to have and to train the best professionals in this field.
To this end, a Theoretical and Practical Advanced Ammunition Course was organised by EUFOR for Armed Forces of BiH (AF BiH) personnel in Ammunition Storage Site Gabela from 8 – 25 April 2014.
The training was conducted by AF BiH and a EUFOR mobile training team, under the leadership of the Austrian Armed Logistics School and with technical support staff from Armaments and Military Technology and Operational Support Command. The topics of this course were “Visual ammunition inspection” and “Chemical Stability Tests of Propellants”.
The main focus was on safety in handling ammunition during an ammunition inspection. The content of this training was divided into the subject areas of visual inspections and chemical analysis of ammunition. Problems of moisture, temperature and similar environmental influences which may occur during the storage of ammunition and the chemical aging process of propellant charges increases the risk of accidents in ammunition sites.
One trainee, Samer Ćosovic said:
“I was very satisfied with the course and I gained new knowledge which I never had before about chemical analysis.”
One of the 5 trainers from AF BiH, Siniša Šegrt said:
“I´m very satisfied with the trainees as every of them passed the exam. I saw very strong motivation, the logistic support was perfect, the presentations were excellent and the practical work was on the highest level. The aim of the course was achieved and I´m very happy”
The training was carried out on the principles of moderating, mentoring and monitoring which ensures the transfer of knowledge into the existing school structure of AF BiH.
EUFOR CBTD’s mission is to assist AF BiH in achieving a robust and self-sustainable training structure, with appropriate staffing mechanisms, to allow AF BiH to provide capability-orientated and trained personnel in line with international standards and able to participate in Peace Support Operations.