Bulgarian military peacekeepers want better equipment, training: survey

Bulgarians who have participated in international peace and security keeping operations want better equipment, training and career prospects, a survey conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Institute (DARI) showed on Wednesday.

Captain First Rank Prof. Yantsislav Yanakiev, director of DARI, told reporters that the survey included semi-standardized interviews with 237 generals, admirals, officers, sergeants and soldiers who have participated in a total of 489 cases of various Bulgarian contingents in operations to maintain international peace and security since 1992.

Those interviewed faced the most problems in terms of equipment, but the positive fact was that a trend of improvement was noted, Yanakiev said on the sidelines of a seminar dedicated to this survey.

The same trend applied to the training, but the peacekeepers emphasized the need to prepare specifically to work in a multinational environment, he said.

Participants highly appreciated joint multinational trainings before departure for missions, as well as so-called "induction training" during the first few days after arrival at the place of destination.

The survey results also showed that money and professional development opportunities were the two key motivators for involvement in overseas missions.

However, in many cases, people were disappointed that successful participation in peacekeeping missions had no impact on their career development, because the issue has not been legally resolved, Yanakiev said.

According to recent statistics from the country's Defense Ministry, Bulgaria has some 110 troops in the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, and another 33 soldiers in missions and operations abroad in places such as Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mali and Liberia. Endit