Reaching Full Operational Capability

In contrast with previous practice, the Full Operational Capability (FOC) validation exercise involved not only the newcomer soldiers of the subunit deploying to the area of operations, but also each organizational element of the KTM battalion.

Accordingly, besides the multinational headquarters of the battalion and its three companies, the training audience on the exercise also included several military policemen, EOD technicians, a PSYOPS team and a freedom of movement detachment (FOMD), all of them operating in the tactical subordination of the KTM battalion.

As part of the pre-exercise training, first the command group of the Portuguese company and then the entire subunit carried out the specification and standardization of crowd riot control (CRC) tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs). The peacekeepers practiced who to react in case they have to counter a Molotov cocktail attack while executing CRC tasks, and were also trained in the use of combat vehicles and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) missions.

Concurrently, the headquarters carried out the military decision-making process (MDMP), which provides a solid basis for precise task execution at company level.

Photos by the author