The Minister of Defense said this Sunday, in Santarém, that preparations had begun for the sending to Romania of a Sniper Company and a detachment of special forces, “part of the Enhanced Surveillance Activities” of NATO.
Helena Carreiras was speaking at the Army Day military ceremony, which took place this Sunday at Campo Emílio Infante da Câmara, in Santarém, which included a parade and a demonstration of the capabilities of the Army’s Operational Component.
According to the minister, Portugal will participate in the future European Union training mission to Ukraine, taking into account the training needs identified by the Ukrainian forces and the “importance of the ground component in this war scenario.”
“The situation of volatility in Eastern Europe and the threat posed by the Russian Federation in the short and medium term for the security of the entire Euro-Atlantic zone, represents an aspect already taken into account in the Directive for the Planning of the new cycle of the Armed Forces. Deployed Nationals, which I broadcast this week,” he said.
Helena Carreiras affirmed that the “priorities established will reflect the new sources of international tension, reducing dispersion in non-priority areas, but without forgetting the attention due to the South Flank”, as stipulated in the “commitment to a 360º approach of the security, constant in the new NATO Strategic Concept”.
At the moment, the Army has “474 soldiers assigned to the National Detached Forces, in very different conflict contexts, with an emphasis on investing in the stabilization of the Central African Republic,” he said, highlighting “the growing opportunities in terms of command that Portugal has undertaken in these international missions”.
“Regardless of the need to reconcile different and increasingly complex theaters of operations, I am confident that the Army will continue to play a central role, as we also advance planning for the future European Union training mission in Ukraine, which we support. with conviction and in which we will certainly participate,” he added.
According to the minister, “the renewed centrality of this type of conflict and the implications derived from it” will be included in the national strategic planning, in particular in the Strategic Concept of National Defense, “whose review process is underway and expected to end in 2023″. , moving forward with an ambitious new vision for National Defense.”
The Day of the Army, which celebrates the capture of Lisbon in 1147 by the troops of D. Afonso Henriques, Patron of the Army, this year had as its central stage the city of Santarém, which hosted, until 2006, the Practical School of Cavalry (EPC).
The role of the EPC in the April 1974 revolution, in particular the action of Salgueiro Maia, was highlighted by both the Minister of National Defense and the Chief of the Army General Staff, José Nunes da Fonseca.
Source: TSF
