Regional Special Operations Component Command Headquarters with Romania to Undergo Final Stage of Certification

Momchil Rusev

Maj. Gen. Yavor Mateev, Commander of Bulgaria's Joint Special Operations Command (BTA Photo/Hristo Kasabov)

Sofia,

18.10.2024 15:21

(BTA)

The Regional Special Operations Component Command Headquarters with Romania is set to undergo its final stage of certification, Maj. Gen. Yavor Mateev, Commander of Bulgaria's Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), told reporters on Friday. He participated in the celebration of the Military Paratrooper Day, which in 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of the first participation of the Bulgarian Armed Forces' first parachute battalion in real combat.

For the first time Bulgaria, together with Romania, will become a regional special operations command, part of the command structure of NATO's special operations forces, Mateev explained. "We will participate with two tactical special operations groups. In the summer we certified two tactical groups at once for the first time. I am confident that everything will go normally and the command, together with the six tactical groups - land, aviation and maritime, will assume combat duty as part of the NATO force with the highest readiness in the Black Sea region," he added.

At the beginning of August, the Parliament ratified a Memorandum of Understanding between Bulgaria's Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of National Defence of Romania on the establishment of a Regional Special Operations Component Command Headquarters. A Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries was signed on July 10 this year in Washington, US, during a NATO Summit.

Special Operations Command, HQ and three of Bulgaria's other formations are 100% manned. The Special Forces Groups are 80% manned, which is a high percentage for the Bulgarian Armed Forces, said Major General Mateev.

/DS/