24th HRVCON Send-off at Pleso

The 24th Contingent is composed of 85 members of the Croatian Armed Forces (mainly the «Pauci» Battalion of the Guards Motorised Brigade of the Croatian Army) and 13 members of the Army of Montenegro, and the Commander is Colonel Slobodan Kratohvil. It will be deployed to North Afghanistan (Mazar-e-Sharif), and will be based in the Camp Marmal with the German forces.
The 24th HRVCON will be continue the regular duties within ISAF until the end of the current year, while as of January 2015 it will assume the duties entailed by the Resolute Support –  the new NATO mission in Afghanistan –  primarily in charge of advising of the 209th Corps of the Afghanistan National Army and of the Afghan Police, and of providing security to the advisory teams, and will only occasionally secure the Camp. 

Conveying the regards of the President of the Republic, Ivo Josipović, the Defence Minister, Ante Kotromanović and the Chief of the General Staff, General Lovrić, Vice admiral Urlić addressed the Contingent members: «Your service in Afghanistan contributes to the consolidation of peace and security in that country and radically ameliorates the living conditions for its citizens; you are expected to evince high level of responsibility and professionalism and to provide assistance to the Afghan people».

The Commander of the Contingent in his address emphasised that the 24th Contingent was significant as the contingent to conclude the mission in ISAF as another successful chapter in the history of the Croatian Armed Forces, and that their members were prepared for all plausible tasks and scenarios in both NATO-led missions they were deployed to. “The success of the mission will depend on thorough commitment of its participants”, said Colonel Kratohvil.
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