American Ambassador Rayes in Croatian Navy and at the military training ground near Slunj
The strong alliance and partnership between the United States and Croatia was confirmed, and the importance of joint action in the context of preserving peace and security was highlighted
On Wednesday, 6 March 2024, at the Eugen Kvaternik military training ground near Slunj, the Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Croatia, Nathalie Rayes, and representatives of the Ministry of Defence and of the CAF met with members of the 173rd Brigade of the US Army on the occasion of conducting an allied military live fire exercise.
In particular, the CAF provide host nation support support in the aforementioned exercise, and this visit once again confirmed a strong alliance and partnership between the United States and Croatia.
Ambassador Rayes emphasised the importance of further joint action between the two countries in the context of preserving peace and security, i.e. further strengthening of joint cooperation in the field of joint training and exercises.
The implementation of this exercise on the territory of the Republic of Croatia is defined by the Decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on the crossing of the border of the Republic of Croatia by the armed forces of the allied countries and the CAF in order to participate in joint training and exercises in the year 2024.
US Ambassador Rayes at the Fleet Admiral Sveto Letica-Barba Barracks
On Tuesday, 5 March 2024 in the Fleet Admiral Sveto Letica-Barba barracks, the Commander of the Croatian Navy, Commodore Damir Dojkić, received the US Ambassador for an inaugural visit and commented the projects realised through bilateral military cooperation during the long-term friendly relations between the Republic of Croatia and the United States.
“In addition to excellent bilateral relations, considerable support is provided to our forces in the field of education and training, joint exercises, donation and procurement of the key military equipment, in operations abroad, humanitarian and development projects and numerous other activities,” Commodore Dojkić emphasised. As part of the presentation of the Croatian Navy’s mission and tasks, the development of capabilities and modernisation plans in the context of current global and regional challenges were discussed, as well as the possibilities for further cooperation.
The programme of the visit included a tour of the Kralj Petar Krešimir IV. RTOP-11 missile ship and facilities for training counter-mine divers.
Specifically, with the renovation and construction of this infrastructure, active support of joint projects continued through co-financing from the US Government’s HMAP (Humanitarian Mine Action Program), with the aim of establishing an International Centre for Training of Counter -Mine Divers.
