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Delegation of the Ministry of Defence and the Slovenian Armed Forces visits Slovenian troops in Afghanistan
On Monday, 4 July, State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Boris Balant, MSc, and Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Major General Alojz Šteiner, travelled to Afghanistan. In the ISAF Area of Operation, the Slovenian delegation will meet with members of the 15th SAF Contingent (SVNCON 15 ISAF) who has operated in Afghanistan since April 2011. On Tuesday, 5 July, State Secretary Balant and General Šteiner visited Camp Arena, where they were received by Commander, Regional Command West (RC West), Brigadier General Carmine Masiello. BG Masiello presented to his guests a detailed situation within the RC West’s Area of Operations and gave interviews for two journalists accompanying the Slovenian delegation. The delegation continued the visit in Herat, where Commander, Provincial Reconstruction Team Herat acquainted them with the work and the mission of PRT Herat. They also visited a military camp and met with SVNCON members working there. Later, the delegation was received by the Herat Governor, Dr Daud Saba.
The MoD delegation then paid a visit to Slovenian troops at Camp Zafar, where they met with Commander, 207th Corps, Afghan National Army (ANA), Major General Dauransha Shazada. General Shazada and the Slovenian delegation were acquainted with the work and the mission of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT) and NATO Training Mission (NTM). The delegation continued their visit in Bala Boluk, where they met with Commander, 6th Battalion (Kandak), 207th Corps. They concluded their visit by meeting Commander, ISAF Joint Command, Lieutenant General David M. Rodriguez and Croatian Brigadier General, Ivica Olujić in charge of the Croatian OMLT at the ANA Military Police School.
In the NATO-led operation ISAF, Afghanistan, the Slovenian Armed Forces provide an OMLT within an ANA Infantry Battalion, RC West. Currently, 88 SAF members are deployed to operation ISAF, namely five in Kabul (two at KAIA ISAF and 33 at NTM-A ISAF), fifteen in Herat (4 at HQ RC West, one in PRT and ten in the OMLT, 207th ANA Corps), 66 in Bala Boluk (25 in HQ-Logistics Platoon, 22 at INF OMLT, 6/2/207th Corps and 19 in the Force Protection Platoon), one in Shindad (HQ-Logistics Platoon) and one in Farah (Command, OMLT, 207th ANA Corps). Two civilian functional experts are also engaged within the Slovenian Contingent in Afghanistan. They perform tasks related to development in PRT Herat.