EXPEDITION CAMP – testing set up and maintenance

The members of the General Logistic Support Battalion  of the Command Support tested  the lodging conditions provided by a modern expeditionary camp  in the Pula Airport  from 9 – 16 April 2018

The members of the General Logistic Support Battalion of the Command Support tested the lodging conditions provided by a modern expeditionary camp  in the Pula Airport  from 9 – 16 April 2018; it was also an opportunity to train as many soldiers to set up comfortable tents designed for accomodation in extreme weather conditions. In order to test the conditions in a modern expeditionary camp, designed to provide accomodation in extreme weather conditions and in various terrains which also includes air conditioning, heating and LED lighting, the members of the General Logistic Support Battalion set up a tent village titled Force Provider Base Camp. The camp hosted 16 members of the Special Forces Command, nine students of the Basic Officer Training, three quartermaster  instructors of the Logistics Training and and Doctrine Centre and some 70 members of the General Logistics Support Battalion  The camp has the capacity to accomodate up to 150 soldiers and was inaugurated in the Barracks “Croatia“ in September 2017. The members of the Support Command received the training in camp setup and maintenance by the U.S. Tehnical Assistance Team from Letterkenny Pennsylvania. The event in Pula was an opportunity to test the set up and maintenance skills and to test the tents too, which offer far greater amenities compared to the classical Army tents. ”The expedition camp is composed of 15 tents – ten serving as accomodation and the remaining five as administrative and service facilities (Battalion staff, living room and gym). Each sleeping tent contains ten foldable beds accomodating up to 20 soldiers, The camp has shower tents with heating, the laundry tent and sanitary blocks which are all connected to the water collection system; as much as 75% of the water used for showers and washing can be used again. “This was our first autonomous setting up pf the camp, and was therefore demanding. We did receive the initial training in the Barracks “Croatia”, but it turned out to be insuficient; we managed to set it up within a short time. The deployment of troops and equipment, the accomodation and landing take at least one day; the set up and equipiing of the camp takes five days more  My objective for the next stage is to achieve the due trainedness level  of the General Logistic Support Battalion to ensure the expedition camp fully operational within 72 hours, said the Battalion Commander Colonel Ivica Raguž. The “Hrvatski vojnik“ magazine team toured the Camp with 2nd Lieutenant Martina Mataković-Barun, who was tasked with the setup  and organisation of tents and all accompanying facilities in the camp. “The present training event is expected to train a total of 24 members the General Logistic Support Battalion. We have organised this event to test what we learned with the instructors of the Force Provider Base Camp in the Barracks “Croatia”, but also to train a larger number of members to upgrade the respective capability. The camp will be dismantled after April 22nd and it will be the first time the disassembly is done independently, and the first time  for most members to take part in a task of the kind“. “Once you learn to assemble it all goes smoothly. We have a kitchen and a tent furbished as a food storage capacity  The camp iis provided with the auxiliary power unit and other power and water supply system; it is therefore self-standing and itakes only a flat surface  to set it up“  says Sgt Parlić.  Following the dismatling of the tents (made of uninflammable materials) the camp is packed into 30 containers and transported to a new location.  Its next use will be in the support of the Exercise “Velebit“, an inter-service exercise of the Croatian Army, the Croatian Navy and the Croatian Air Force to be conducted in October 2018. The Commander of the Support Command, Major General Mladen Fuzul  observed the presentation of the camp setup. The Camp is mainly the project of the Support Command, which is marking its 16th anniversary. “The main purpose was to test the overall functioning of the camp in the field  The members of the Special Forces Command who are now staying in the Camp will provide valuable feedback on the Camp. There are still some minor things to fix but I am pleased with the task accomplished. The next use of the camp will be in supoport of the Exercise “Velebit“. The Camp is mainly the project of the Support Command, which is soon to mark its 16th anniversary, and has a four.-day marking programme, comprising the Memorial day dedicated to the fallen and deceased members of the Support Command, followed by the Education Day (3 May), the Sport and Music Day (5 May) and the Health and Humanity Day (5 May). The guiding idea was to present the Support Command and the Croatian Armed Forces through the many activities. “The sport facilities in the Barracks “Croatia” are undergoing renovation at the moment, and will be opened formally on the Sport and Music Day to promote the Year of Readiness and Activity of Croatian Soldiers  and made available to all members stationed in the Barracks“, said 1st Lieutenant Ines Grossi, PAO of the Support Command.