International Exercise Toxic Valley 2021

International troops have gathered for the opening ceremony of Ex Toxic Valley 2021, a three-week CBRN exercise held at the CBRN Defence Training and Testing Centre Zemianske Kostoľany.

The exercise is designed to train Sampling and Identification of Chemical Agents (SICA) teams and CBRN mobile lab teams to identify chemical warfare agents (CWAs). Ex Toxic Valley 2021 involves almost 300 personnel from the SVK Armed Forces and the SVK Interior Ministry and the Armed Forces from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States of America.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Col Oliver Toderiška, Exercise Director and Commander CBRN Defence Battalion Rožňava, said: “After last year's pause over the coronavirus pandemic in the containment of which many of the exercising soldiers were involved, we once again have an opportunity to put our capabilities to the test in realistic conditions.“

In the Allied CBRND community, the CBRN Defence Training and Testing Centre Zemianske Kostoľany offers unique options for training CBRND specialists with the use of chemical warfare agents (CWAs). CBRND TTC Zemianske Kostoľany, accredited by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), enhances training for military and civilian specialists in detecting CWAs and preparing their response to CBRN incidents.