Serbian Army, Ohio Guard Train Together in Prokuplje
A five-day engineering exercise is under way at the Ratko Pavlovic Cicko barracks in Prokuplje, using graders, dozers and rollers the United States previously donated to the Serbian Army.
A joint engineering exercise involving the Serbian Army and the Ohio National Guard is under way at the Ratko Pavlovic Cicko barracks in Prokuplje. The Ministry of Defense announced on August 13 that the activities run for five days and are being carried out on machinery the American side donated to the Serbian Army over previous years.
The exercise doesn’t involve weapons but construction equipment used to open up and maintain passable terrain. The ministry says the training covers a wide range of gear used by engineering units in both countries:
- graders
- dozers
- loaders
- dump trucks, known locally as kippers
- rollers
The five-day cycle is split into three parts. The first is lectures, the second is an exchange of experience between Serbian and American engineers, and the third is hands-on work maintaining and operating the equipment. The practical portion is also the largest, since the whole exercise is built around machinery that both armies keep in their inventories.
What Is Actually Being Trained in the Field?
The focus is on readiness to carry out engineering work. The Ministry of Defense specified three groups of tasks: overcoming and clearing obstacles on the terrain, building shelters and defensive positions, and reconstructing and maintaining roads.
These are jobs carried out with the same equipment regardless of which country’s unit is on the task, which is why joint training works without any need to adapt the gear. A grader leveling ground and a roller compacting it do the same job in Prokuplje as they would in Ohio.
Two Decades of Partnership With Ohio
The Serbian Army and the Ohio National Guard have been cooperating for two decades under the Serbia-Ohio State Partnership Program. Joint training exercises are just one part of that program.
The Ministry of Defense said activities like this improve the capabilities of the armed forces and contribute to the broader relationship between Serbia and the United States. That places the Prokuplje exercise within the wider frame of bilateral relations, not just on the calendar of military drills.
This year’s Serbian Army training cycle has largely gone in a different direction. We previously reported on training that pushes units into more complex tactical conditions, meaning preparation for fieldwork under difficult circumstances. What’s happening in Prokuplje now is a different kind of task: engineering work tied to equipment and its upkeep, closer in nature to construction than to combat training.
The donation of machinery by the American side isn’t new, it has been going on for years, but the current exercise shows the equipment isn’t just being handed over, it’s being put into regular use. Without trained operators, a donated grader stays parked inside the barracks.
The statement didn’t say what follows once the five-day cycle in Prokuplje wraps up, or whether further training is planned at another location before the end of the year.
