ASTANA – The Kazakh Ministry of Defence announced Jan. 31 that the multinational military peacekeeping exercises Steppe Eagle – 2015 will be held in April and June and are expected to include the participation of troops from the United States.
The April exercises will involve the Kazbat peacekeeping battalion operating within a multinational force under a unified command within multidisciplinary peacekeeping operations. They will work on maintaining public order and securing a village. They will also practice methods of defence and observance of the rules of the use of force, conducting searches of persons and vehicles, detecting explosive devices, organising communication and negotiation to international standards, civil-military interaction, service at an observation post, providing first aid and evacuating the wounded. Participants will also practice for the first time methods of disarmament, demobilisation and the reintegration of ex-combatants.
Steppe Eagle – 2015 hopes to test the ability of the Kazbrig peacekeeping brigade to perform tasks within a multinational force under a unified command.
The exercises have been conducted since 2003 and normally attract more than 1,500 troops as well as international military observers, NATO representatives and diplomatic corps members accredited in Kazakhstan.
