UNIFIL’s Ghanaian peacekeepers recently participated in a complex exercise with Italian peacekeepers in south-western Lebanon with the aim of enhancing operational interoperability between reserve assets of the two units.
As part of the exercise codenamed “COMBINEX”, conducted in six different locations under Ghanaian responsibility on 30 October, peacekeepers practiced the participating units’ ability to effectively respond to different situations in the Sector West area of operations.
It sought to test the battalion readiness, equipment and communication procedures in order to maintain a high standard of interoperability among the Sector West forces, to reduce, if needed, shortfalls in coordinating measures and to improve mutual knowledge of assets from different troop-contributing countries.
It involved complex scenarios, including armed hostile civilians who mounted roadblock to deny patrol team movements, casualty evacuation of wounded personnel due to violence, negotiations, and interventions of the Battalion Mobile Reserve as well as that of the Sector West Mobile Reserve. In the second phase, the training personnel managed a suspected COVID-19 case, who was involved in enforcing roadblocks.
During the exercise, Ghanaian Battalion (GHANBATT) Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Gyebi-Abrokwah, visited all the companies and detachments under his command, while UNIFIL’s Sector West training chief, Lieutenant Colonel Eamon Kirby, closely observed it.
This is one of several joint and coordinated training exercises UNIFIL peacekeepers carry out daily among themselves and also with the Lebanese Armed Forces.