OSCE supports regional explosive ordnance disposal course for specialists from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Serbia

On 27 October 2023, nineteen mine action specialists and practitioners (18 men, 1 woman) from the military, law enforcement, security services, and humanitarian agencies of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Serbia completed a three-week regional Explosive Ordnance Disposal course (EOD Level 2) at the Regional Explosive Hazards Training Centre of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defence in Chimteppa.

During the EOD Level 2 course participants enhanced their skills in determining when it is safe to move and transport specific items of ordnance, as well as in conducting simultaneous disposal of multiple items of ordnance through a series of theoretical classes and practical exercises, focusing on EOD safeties, explosives and explosive theory, fuze arming forces and fuze types, use of metal detector, EOD reconnaissance, demolition range management, and full mission profile.

The closing ceremony at the Regional Explosive Hazards Training Centre in Chimteppa was attended by representatives of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defence, the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan, and the United States Army Central (USARCENT).

The activity is part of the OSCE Programme Office’s broader role in mobilizing national and international actors, fostering political dialogue on a wide range of security issues, and developing a platform for joint action among participating Central Asian states, all aiming to make a lasting difference in humanitarian mine action.