site.btaDefence Chief Gives Highs Marks to Participants in Stealth Dagger – 24

Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov gave high marks to the abilities shown by the participants in the "Stealth Dagger - 24" exercise of the Special Forces. On June 27, he attended a demonstration day at the Tsrancha training complex, the Defense Ministry said Thursday. The exercise evaluated the combat capabilities of two Special Operations Tactical Groups according to NATO Allied Command Operations standards.

Admiral Eftimov congratulated the participants for the demonstrated skills and stressed their importance. "NATO changed its assessment methodology two or three months before our national certification. I learned about the process of planning and conducting the exercise and made sure, along with the Alliance's special operations observers, that our Special Forces, the exercises and training they conduct, are up to NATO standards, which are constantly changing," the defense chief said.

He stressed that the reason for the increasing requirements and standards is the conflict and war in Ukraine and stressed the need to accelerate the adaptation and transformation processes of the armed forces. 

Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command Major General Yavor Mateev told journalists that Bulgaria is one of the first countries to implement the new requirements and certify under the new NATO standards.

The demonstrations were also observed by Vice Admiral Paolo Pezzuti, Italy’s Joint Command for Special Operations Commander, Colonel Gabriel-Ovidiu Ursachi, Deputy Commander of Romania’s Special Forces, and MPs. Different operational procedures, which were practiced during the exercise, were performed. Vehicle apprehension was demonstrated with the participation of tactical dogs, infiltration of Special Forces operators by parachute and helicopter by the quick rope method, evacuation of a Special Forces platoon by helicopter by the grape method, evacuation of a crashed vehicle and exercises of dynamic pistol and assault rifle firing at short and extremely short ranges.