SAF Team Ready to Participate in Operation Atalanta
Friday, 1.7.2022 | Training
This week, Tactical Exercise “Pirate 2022” has been executed at Ušće anchorage in Belgrade in order to examine if the SAF team is combat-ready for participation in EU NAVFOR Atalanta.
This exercise was part of standard SAF teams’ preparations for the protection of ships transporting food to the Horn of Africa ports under UN program for countering famine in Somalia; protection is being provided by forces engaged on this EU operation.
The twelve-member team, MP Detachment for Special Purposes “Cobras”, exhibited excellent skills at the exercise, showing that they were fully ready for protecting the ships from pirate attacks and other threats to security in the waters of the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.
The SAF General Staff Assessment Team checked if the actions were performed properly and if international training standards set for the unit were respected.
SAF have been participating in Atalanta military operation since April 2012 when they deployed staff officers in the ship-based Force HQ and land-based mission’s Operational HQ. Since December 2013, autonomous teams for the protection of ships have been engaged periodically in line with the mission’s needs and agreements made with EU partners.
