Teams of the Bulgarian Army will take part in the relay marathon which will be held on the 6th of September 2019 in the city of Sofia. The start of the Sofia Ekiden (Relay) Marathon will be given at 9.00 a.m. in front of the Vasil Levski National Stadium, located at the intersection of Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi Blvd. and Gurko Str. The event is organized by the Sofia-Europe Youth Sports Club and the Bulgarian Sport For All Association. This year the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence and the Bulgarian Armed Forces Women Association will partake in the sports event as partners on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of NATO and the 15th anniversary of Bulgaria’s accession to the Alliance.

Three Bulgarian Army teams will participate in the Sofia Ekiden Marathon, representing the Land Forces, the Air Force, and the Special Operations Forces respectively, alongside three coed teams of the Children of the Bulgarian Army Foundation and a women’s and a mеn’s team formed by the elite athletes of Bulgaria and of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The competitors’ outfits will be branded with the logo of the We Are NATO campaign. Among them, in the ranks of the elite athletes, will be Vladimir Iliev, silver medalist from the Biathlon World Cup in Östersund in 2019; Stanimir Belomazhev, three times European champion and world champion in ski orienteering; Cdr Todor Dimitrov, the second Bulgarian to successfully complete the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, the world’s longest footrace; and Antonia Grigorova, the first woman in Bulgaria to speed cross our longest high-mountain long-distance trail beginning at Kom Peak and ending at Cape Emine.

“That has been one of the best exercises for the last few years. The troops have demonstrated excellent communication and interaction”, stated the Chief of Defense today, 19 June, at the closing stage of the tactical live fire exercise Strike Back 2019 at Novo Selo Training Area.

Today the distinguished visitors and the media representatives witnessed capabilities for the conduct of a defensive operation shown by the participants of the exercise structured in a multinational battalion from the armed forces of Bulgaria, USA, Greece, Albania, and Northern Macedonia.

"The most important feature of one joint operation in a coalition format is the good communication and interaction, the unified comprehension of the command and the organization, as well as the common tactic, techniques, and procedures. What we witnessed today comprised exceptional dynamics, immense accuracy, and high coordination", declared president Rumen Radev in front of media representatives. He gave a very high estimate of the exercise and congratulated the exercise control, all commanders and the servicemen from the participant countries on the results achieved.

The distinguished visitors day started with a moment for silence in memory of the Canadian paratrooper, who perished in the line of duty during the exercise of airborne troops Swift Response 2019 directed by US Army Europe.

The final stage of Strike Back 2019 involved more than one hour of dynamic combat actions of the military formations of the armed forces of the five participant countries, which presented the acquired joint capabilities and interoperability as a result of the joint efforts during the planning and the preparation.

Bulgarian Army Commander Major General Mihail Popov Forces, officer scheduling the exercise, indicated that throughout the joint training the servicemen exchanged experience and also managed to bolster mutual reliance as partners and allies; and moreover, the military participants increased their capabilities. Furthermore, the General declared, "Being soldiers, we have been trained to fight and have the idea of the aftermath of warfare: death, havoc, and grief. Thus, as people wearing uniforms, we believe that it might be better for nations to stomach a hundred years of negotiations instead of a day of hostilities”.

The final stage of Strike Back 2019 comprised the following Bulgarian participants: 38th Mechanized Battalion equipped with a battery of self-propelled mortars and a mixed anti-tank platoon, 20th self-propelled artillery battalion of 2nd Mechanized Brigade, a tank company from the Center for training of specialists, as well as assets for close air support from the Air Force. US Army Europe participates with a mechanized company equipped with infantry fighting vehicles М2А3 Bradley and Humvee. The Hellenic Republic provided for the training a tank platoon with Leopard 2 tanks and AH-64 Apache helicopters for close air support. The armies of Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia, each, contributed an infantry platoon with their own armament while their combat vehicles Humvee were provided by 2nd Mechanized Brigade.

After the demonstration, there was a static display of armament and equipment used by the military units during the event.

The Distinguished Visitors Day of Strike Back 2019 was also honored by the Chief Secretary of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Dimitar Stoyanov, the Deputy Chief of Defence Vice Admiral Emil Eftimov, the Commander of the Joint Forces Command Lieutenant General Lyubcho Todorov, the Deputy Commander of the Bulgarian Joint Forces Command Major General Ivan Lalov, also holding the position of Bulgarian EXCON Director, senior officers from Bulgarian Armed Forces, national officials, ambassadors, military delegations and military attachés from the participating countries.

After the para drop in the evening of 17 June and the early hours of 18 June at Cheshnegirovo Airfield, the servicemen from 82nd Airborne Division move on with their actions featuring plans for seizure of key terrain in the area of Novo Selo Training Area.

In the evening of 19 June the paratroopers will be deployed with helicopters of 1 Air Operations Brigade of US Army Europe. „Swift Response - 2019“ continues on the territory of Bulgaria until 24 June 2019.

„Swift Response - 2019“ is an annual exercise of airborne troops held under the command of US Army Europe on the territories of Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania from 13 June to 25 June 2019.

The exercise demonstrates strategic use of airborne troops with high degree of readiness, called Global Response Force, while conducting exercises for seizure of key terrain. That provides the opportunity of joint preparation with a view of development of capabilities for command and control of special operations simultaneously from dispersed locations.

The participation in such multinational exercises increases the readiness, bolsters the professional relationships and improves the general coordination among allies and partners in times of crisis.

Video and photographs can be accessed on the following web site:
https://www.dvidshub.net/feature

„Swift Response - 2019“ led by US Army Europe is an annual exercise with airborne troops conducted on the territories of Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania from 13 June to 25 June 2015.

The total number amounts to approximately 5600 servicemen from eight countries while 1495 of them are para troopers.

On 17 June 2019 at night a Joint Forcible Entry will occur in military installation 1555 otherwise known as Cheshnegirovo airfield. According to the notional scenario, the ground defense of the area will be enacted by opposing force consisting of servicemen from 42nd mechanized battalion of 2nd mechanized brigade. Forwarding operating site Bezmer will provide close air support and destruction of land-based enemy air defense, air traffic control will be provided by Plovdiv airport, as the rescue and logistic support of the operation will be provided by the US.

„Swift Response - 2019“ will demonstrate strategic employment of airborne troops with high readiness called Global Response force, conducting exercise for seizing key terrain. That provides the opportunity for joint preparation for development of C2 capabilities for conduct of several operations from dispersed locations.

The participation in multinational exercises increases the readiness, improves the professional contacts and enhances the general coordination with allies and partners in times of contingencies.

You can access pictures and video at the following address:
https://www.dvidshub.net/feature

“I’m pleased with the things I saw and the servicemen are well prepared. Such joint exercises demonstrate the results of the efforts of the government. Today all of you could see why we allotted financial resource for the repair and the maintenance of military equipment and for the helicopters MI 24 and [the planes] SU 25." These were the words of the Minister of Defense, Krasimir Karakachanov, today, 13 June 2019, after the live-fire drills at the air defence firing range "Shabla". They were conducted within the final stage of the joint tactical exercise with live fire Shabla 2019 which involved units from the Air Defense of the Army, joint experimental and combat drills of aviation units from the Air Force with international participation, fire drills with 9K79 and fulfillment of tasks with artillery assets of the Army on surface targets.

The schedule also included live fire with MIG 29 Fulcrum, SU 25 Frogfoot, MI 24 Hind, S-300 (SA-10 Grumble), S-125 (SA-3 Goa), 2K12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful), Avenger Air Defense System, with MANPADS Strela 2M (SA-7 Grail) and 9K33 Osa (SA-8 Gecko), ZU 23-2 and 9K79 (SS-21 Scarab).

The live-fire drills were observed by Boyko Borisov, prime minister of Republic of Bulgaria, delegation from the Republic of Serbia, led by the minister of defense Alexander Vulin, deputy-ambassador of USA in Bulgaria Justin Friedman, the commander of the Army component of the national guard of Tennessee Brigadier General Jimmy Kohl, the chief of parliamentary defense subcommittee Konstantin Popov, the chief of the defense Andrey Botsev, high-ranking generals and officers of the Bulgarian Armed Forces and the participating countries USA and Serbia, as well as representatives of government institutions.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov emphasized the role of the joint exercises held in our country for the foreign policy of Bulgaria. “Today we train together, we demonstrate our capabilities. The live fire drills of the Bulgarian, Serbian and US units at the air defence firing range show that we must live in peace, not in war, that the deterrent force is the most important one”, he pointed out. "Peace can survive on the Balkan peninsula only when we all are very strong. united, and know that everything different from peace is complete damage to all of us”, prime minister Boyko Borisov stated.

“We are struggling for peace and stability on the Balkan peninsula. It is essential for us to have good relationships with our neighbouring states, our armed forces to be ready to protect the peace”, Serbian Minister of Defense Alexander Vullin pointed out.

“The essential conclusion from the live-fire drills is that we are stronger together”, emphasized Justin Friedman, deputy-ambassador of the USA in Bulgaria.

For four days, units from Air Force, Army, and Navy, within a joint force, perfected their interaction in an operation for the protection of the sea and air sovereignty of the Republic of Bulgaria. For the first time, this year Air Defense units conducted live-fire drills with missiles at night and that contributes to the enhancement of their capabilities to fulfil tasks regardless of the conditions.

Joint live-fire drills were also conducted with units from the armed forces of Serbia and USA as part of the exercise. One thousand and four hundred servicemen participated in the exercise.