OSCE-supported regional explosive ordnance disposal course for specialists from Central Asia conducted in Tajikistan

Fifteen specialists from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan completed a four-week regional Explosive Ordnance Disposal course (EOD level 2) at the Regional Explosive Hazards Training Centre (REHTC) of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) in Chimteppa, on 21 October 2022.

The course was hosted by Tajikistan’s MOD and facilitated by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe in partnership with the United States Army Central (USARCENT). USARCENT and the REHTC’s instructors delivered the training course.

The activity aimed to develop the competencies and enhance the qualifications of military personnel from Central Asia in detecting and identifying explosive ordnances and determining when they can be safely moved and transported to their final disposal. Other main topics covered in the course were EOD safeties; EOD recognition; EOD equipment; protective works, and personal protective equipment.  

During the closing ceremony, the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe donated transport and computer equipment to Tajikistan’s MOD.

Jukka Tuononen, Head of the OSCE Programme Office’s Politico-Military Department, noted that the role of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement is especially significant to ensure the implementation of the project and the development of its sustainability.

Representing Tajikistan’s MOD, Major General Sayorabek Bachabekzoda, Head of the Engineering Department, said: “The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe has been actively supporting the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Tajikistan in the implementation of the state programme on Humanitarian Mine Action since 2003 to the present day. Another priority area for co-operation between the Ministry and the OSCE is the capacity development and training of specialists and instructors in the Regional Explosive Hazards Training Center of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defence.”

The course will sustain the training capacity within the Ministries of Defence of Central Asia to train its staff on explosive hazards and operational management resources. It will allow the Ministries to continue internal capacity development and skills transfer in their departments in Central Asia and other OSCE participating States, as per national and international standards.