Military medicine connects Balkan armies

MEDCEUR, an annual joint and combined medical exercise with a focus on major disaster response and mass casualty situations, has been hosted in the last decade by Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. [AFP]

Military medicine connects Balkan armies

Armies in the region have been improving their co-operation through joint military medicine activities.

According to regional armies' representatives and experts, military medicine is a great opportunity for the improvement of bilateral and multinational relations of armed forces in the Balkans, while improving regional security and stability.

"The universality of the mission and task of every military medicine service that is based on principles of helping the injured, hurt and sick, is the main reason why medicine is the best field for military co-operation," the Croatian Ministry of Defence said in a statement to SETimes.

Croatia participates in several regional and international joint initiatives to develop multinational co-operation and interoperability of medical support in conflict areas.

As part of the US Adriatic Charter, Croatia, Macedonia and Albania spent four years working together to provide medical support to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. The initiative was a part of NATO's Partnership for Peace programme.

Experiences that Croatia military medicine personnel gained through the programme also contributed to bilateral co-operation with Serbian teams, based on exchange of experiences from international military operations.

Military medicine is an important part of multinational co-operation and its basis is joint exercises.

Croatia participates in several regional and international joint initiatives to develop multinational co-operation of medical support in conflict areas. [AFP]

MEDCEUR is an annual joint and combined medical exercise with a focus on major disaster response and mass casualty situations. Among several hundred of...

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