MEDCEUR 08 lands in Croatia, preparations under way

  • Published
  • By U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Denise Johnson
  • Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe Public Affairs
DIVULJE TRAINING BASE, Croatia - --  Croatia is welcoming exercise participants and support personnel from 15 nations who began arriving here April 21 in preparation for the Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe 2008 (MEDCEUR 08).

The exercise, scheduled for May 2 through 15, is a U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff regional/multilateral exercise sponsored by U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and hosted by Croatia this year in the spirit of "Partnership for Peace" (PfP).

About 400 multi-nationals are expected to take part in a joint effort to save more lives through medical-response training and the practical application of that training. The participants and support personnel will stay on Divulje Training Base, just outside Trogir.
"We are very excited to host this exercise," said Croatian Lieutenant Dalibor Jokic. "This is a great opportunity for our country to be part of such a noble endeavor. This exercise is about building on our separate experiences to create a multi-national life-saving team." Jokic is the MEDCEUR 08 exercise co-commander.

Trainers from various nations will share their expertise throughout one week of classroom training followed by three days of field application in a simulated natural-disaster scenario.

"The most impressive point made at this exercise is the lateral interaction," said U.S. Air Force Col. Kevin Ross, MEDCEUR 08 commander. "You can walk into a classroom and see a Croatian teaching one subject while in another classroom you'll find the subject matter expert is from Macedonia. The students, of course, represent the 15 countries present. It is truly a combined effort."

MEDCEUR brings nations together in a joint training and validation medical exercise aimed at the interoperability of multi-national disaster response, humanitarian and peacekeeping missions.