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| Niko Peleshi speaking before the Light Infantry Battalion Group |
At the end of the certification training of the Light Infantry Battalion Group (Known i Albanian by the acronyms "GBKL"), "Biza '22", the Day of Distinguished Visitors was organized at the national training ground of Biza. Minister of Defense Niko Peleshi, during his speech, expressed his appreciation and gratitude to all those who contributed to the successful implementation of this exercise, which, as he said, is considered one of the most significant achievements of the Armed Forces, the certification of the Battalion Group of Light Infantry according to NATO standards.
"The Alliance's request for certification and increasing the level of readiness of its forces becomes even more "immediate" today in the new reality of security, severely compromised after Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. The protection of the territories of the Alliance is the primary task of us and our allies, a task which we are not allowed not to fulfill", said Minister Peleshi, while thanking the strategic ally, the United States of America, for the support.
The Minister of Defense said that "the hard work of several teams of the New Jersey Guard, but also the attachment to the GBKL of a special American structure, SFAB (Special Force Assistance Brigade), made the realization possible of our target in almost record time".
During his speech, Minister Peleshi also spoke about the challenges that await the Armed Forces in the near future. "I want to encourage our Armed Forces, with responsibility and professionalism, to engage in the implementation of national and joint exercises planned with NATO and the American Command in Europe (USAREUR).
The next challenge is undoubtedly the "Defender Europe 2023" exercise. Following the success of Defender Europe 21, in this exercise, the International Brigade will be established in our country, part of "Task Force South", with contributions from the countries of the "USA-Adriatic Charter" Initiative.
Allow me to reaffirm our commitment to the NATO missions in Kosovo (KFOR), Latvia (eFP), Iraq, as well as to missions led by the UN (South Sudan) and the European Union (EUFOR, BiH). The year 2023 will be a challenging year for our Armed Forces, which will have to, in addition to increasing the presence in the current missions, also participate in the naval operations "FOCOPS" and "Agean Sea" with an Iliria-class ship ", said the Minister of Defense.
The Light Infantry Battalion Group underwent operational evaluation, according to NATO's "Combat Readiness Evaluation" (CREVAL) system in the "Biza 22" certification exercise, thus receiving the "Combat Ready" certification.