150 Slovak soldiers expected
07 February, 2013
KABUL: In 2014, Slovakia could send up to 150 soldiers to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan in two rotations as part of Special Operations Training Group (SOTG), reads the proposal tabled by the Defence Ministry. "The special operations group will be sent to the NATO operation in Afghanistan to carry out support tasks, mentoring and consultancy for Afghan security forces with a focus on fully carrying out special operational tasks," reads the proposal as quoted by the TASR newswire. This contribution is designed to bridge the critical period due to follow after the termination of the ISAF operation set for 2014. It is also in line with the NATO Chicago Summit's conclusions and, according to the Defence Ministry statement, also takes into account the economic options of Slovakia. Slovakia already has experience with deploying its Special Operations Training Group to Afghanistan. In September 2012, the country sent a third rotation of 20 soldiers from the 5th Žilina Special Operations Regiment to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, where it currently has a total of 253 soldiers deployed. End.
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