A visit to the Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) at Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was a key part of Third Army/U.S. Army Central's (Third Army) EOD information exchange held between Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Third Army's EOD team Aug. 16 through 20.
The exchange is part of Third Army's theater security cooperation program, which focuses on increasing interoperability between partner nations.
During the visit, participants toured the Joint-Service All-Ranks EOD course and were introduced to equipment U.S. EOD teams are using in theater. They also received briefings on the Afghan EOD school and technical seminars.
"Our guests were able to view firsthand and try out the equipment used by U.S. EOD forces," said Lt. Col. Frank Davis, Third Army EOD officer. "They also toured the facility where all U.S. DoD EOD personnel train and become certified EOD technicians."
Third Army has held three EOD information exchanges with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan over the past year, Davis explained. This exchange is the second multilateral event. It is designed to promote cooperation among the nations and peace within the region, he added.
"This exchange is a portion of Third Army's overall shaping strategy to improve relationships between the U.S., Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as helping them to improve their overall self-defense capability," Davis said.
"These events are very valuable," said Col. Ziyabek Kambychekov, Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Defense chief of engineering. "They emphasize the importance of working together as partners to strive for peace."
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