Border Guards complete OSCE training course on patrolling in Turkmenistan

ASHGABAT, 24 September 2016 – A series of training courses for the State Border Service of Turkmenistan, organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, concluded today near Ashgabat.

The training courses were held from 6 June to 24 September 2016. Four international experts introduced participants to the types and forms of border patrols, including reconnaissance and tracking patrols, border patrol routine and techniques, information collection and terrain analysis as well as motorized patrolling.

“As the OSCE is playing a vital role in maintaining regional security, the Centre is committed to continuing and expanding its successful co-operation with the State Border Service of Turkmenistan to contribute to ensuring border security in the Central Asian region,” said Ambassador Natalya Drozd, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

“We organized these training courses to support the host government’s efforts in strengthening the capacities of the State Border Service of Turkmenistan through the use of innovative techniques applied by border forces around the globe.”

The courses also addressed first aid and pre-hospital trauma care and casualty evacuation. The practical components of the courses included field exercises on inspection of vehicles, people, and personal belongings, hostage rescue tactics, land navigation and desert survival techniques. The training activities also included a train the trainer course to provide teaching techniques and methods to officers of the State Border Guards Service of Turkmenistan.

These courses are the essential part of an OSCE extra-budgetary project on strengthening border guard capacities in Turkmenistan launched in 2014 and implemented with financial support from the governments of Germany, Luxembourg and the United States of America.