Training Centre (TC) Lešť hosts international Exercise Slovak Shield 2023, testing the ability of Allied troops to defend our country
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- Date: 21.03.2023
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Ex Slovak Shield 2023, one of Slovakia's largest international military exercises, is now culminating with the final tactical phase of the exercise (TACEX) at the Training Centre (TC) Lešť. Today, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď joined Slovak Armed Forces top commanders for the Ex Slovak Shield 2023 Distinguished Visitors' Day (DVD) to witness a tactical live-action demonstration.
Speaking during the Ex SLSD23 DVD, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “Every year since 2015, Ex Slovak Shield has been a great training opportunity, with a focus on the coordination of cooperation with our Allies, if the North Atlantic Treaty’s Article 5 situation occurs. For the purposes of this exercise, this means an attack on the Slovak Republic, so troops must be able to coordinate and cooperate more closely together to defend our country.”
Nearly 2,000 troops, supported by approx. 400 pieces of combat equipment, from the nations participating in the Visegrad Four (V4) and the NATO Multinational Battlegroup Slovakia (NATO MN BG SVK) – including from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, and the United States of America – are testing their ability as a task force to plan and conduct a defensive operation to stop the enemy's aggression against an Allied nation.
For the first time in the history of the exercise, SVK Active Reserves (AR) soldiers from 21 Mechanised Battalion Trebišov and their colleagues from the Visegrad Four armed forces and the Indiana National Guard (USA) take on the role of the enemy, whilst the NATO MN BG SVK acts as the defending force.
In addition, Ex SLSD23 serves as a certification exercise for the Czech-led NATO Multinational Battlegroup Slovakia, based at Lešť, and offers a training opportunity for selected units of the V4 European Union Battlegroup (V4 EU BG) to align their most current and relevant tactics, techniques and procedures ahead of their certification for the coming stand-by period.
On SVK defence capabilities, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “I am convinced they will continue to grow with the coming of new military equipment that we have already procured or are procuring. So, I hope to see the new Patria 8×8 armoured modular vehicles on the exercise as early as next year and the [CV90] tracked infantry fighting vehicles and the Leopard main battle tanks in the coming years as they are delivered into operational service with the Army.”
He went on to emphasise that Slovakia is part of the world's strongest defence alliance, which has for the past 70 years proved its value insofar as no one has ever dared to attack any of its members. On the other hand, Russia has clearly shown that it is a threat to global peace and security, which justifies the need for Allied readiness and joint training activities.
At the conclusion of his statement, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “For the past years alone, we have witnessed Russia attacking Georgia and Ukraine as well as constantly threatening other countries, among others, Slovakia, through hybrid threats. We can see a seditious disinformation campaign and Russia’s war propaganda in our country, including the Russian Embassy’s outrageous statement threatening representatives of the democratic government in Slovakia on social media channels – this is utterly unthinkable. Therefore, Russia is, unequivocally, a threat, and whether we like it or not, we must be ready for all scenarios – although we all wish for peace.”
Speaking during the Ex SLSD23 DVD, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “Every year since 2015, Ex Slovak Shield has been a great training opportunity, with a focus on the coordination of cooperation with our Allies, if the North Atlantic Treaty’s Article 5 situation occurs. For the purposes of this exercise, this means an attack on the Slovak Republic, so troops must be able to coordinate and cooperate more closely together to defend our country.”
Nearly 2,000 troops, supported by approx. 400 pieces of combat equipment, from the nations participating in the Visegrad Four (V4) and the NATO Multinational Battlegroup Slovakia (NATO MN BG SVK) – including from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, and the United States of America – are testing their ability as a task force to plan and conduct a defensive operation to stop the enemy's aggression against an Allied nation.
For the first time in the history of the exercise, SVK Active Reserves (AR) soldiers from 21 Mechanised Battalion Trebišov and their colleagues from the Visegrad Four armed forces and the Indiana National Guard (USA) take on the role of the enemy, whilst the NATO MN BG SVK acts as the defending force.
In addition, Ex SLSD23 serves as a certification exercise for the Czech-led NATO Multinational Battlegroup Slovakia, based at Lešť, and offers a training opportunity for selected units of the V4 European Union Battlegroup (V4 EU BG) to align their most current and relevant tactics, techniques and procedures ahead of their certification for the coming stand-by period.
On SVK defence capabilities, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “I am convinced they will continue to grow with the coming of new military equipment that we have already procured or are procuring. So, I hope to see the new Patria 8×8 armoured modular vehicles on the exercise as early as next year and the [CV90] tracked infantry fighting vehicles and the Leopard main battle tanks in the coming years as they are delivered into operational service with the Army.”
He went on to emphasise that Slovakia is part of the world's strongest defence alliance, which has for the past 70 years proved its value insofar as no one has ever dared to attack any of its members. On the other hand, Russia has clearly shown that it is a threat to global peace and security, which justifies the need for Allied readiness and joint training activities.
At the conclusion of his statement, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “For the past years alone, we have witnessed Russia attacking Georgia and Ukraine as well as constantly threatening other countries, among others, Slovakia, through hybrid threats. We can see a seditious disinformation campaign and Russia’s war propaganda in our country, including the Russian Embassy’s outrageous statement threatening representatives of the democratic government in Slovakia on social media channels – this is utterly unthinkable. Therefore, Russia is, unequivocally, a threat, and whether we like it or not, we must be ready for all scenarios – although we all wish for peace.”
