From Monday, 3 April, to Thursday, 6 April, the Balkan Medical Task Force held a table-top exercise (TTX) at the Kadetnica military facility in Maribor.
The exercise was attended by the BMTF Module Leaders with the participation of representatives from all BMTF member countries. In February, the BMTF Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were reviewed and arranged according to the specificities and needs of the Slovenian Military Mobile Hospital Role 2. The aim of the exercise was to test the second level medical support within the BMTF. The changes to the SOPs were communicated to the commanders of all modules during the exercise and verified during the exercise.
The BMTF is a multinational modular medical unit based on the existing military medical capabilities of the participating countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia). Their mission is to provide rapid response medical support or assistance to civil authorities and populations in the event of natural disasters. The interoperability of national medical capabilities available for use in a regional context (Western Balkans), with the possibility of deployment in EU and UN missions and operations, is improving all the time. The Framework Nation provides the basic infrastructure, personnel and equipment necessary for the capability of the Role 2 light military field hospital.
On 1 July 2022, the Republic of Slovenia assumed the lead role in the BMTF for two years. In this capacity, the Slovenian Armed Forces will provide a Role 2 light field hospital, a commander, lead expert, a chief of logistics and a logistics platoon. The purpose of the BMTF is to provide second level (Role 2) rapid response medical care within a wide range of disaster relief activities in the Western Balkans region and beyond, and to operate in crisis response operations. Participating countries provide essential capabilities for international operations, thereby contributing to the development of national medical capabilities in the Western Balkans region or beyond.
