Program Highlight
Peacekeeping Unit Level Event (PKO ULT)
Recently 13 soldiers from the North Carolina Army National Guard (NCARNG) arrived in Moldova to assist the Moldovan Peacekeeping Battalion (PKO BN) through the NATO OCC (Operational Capability Concept) level 1 evaluation. A company sized element of the PKO BN, consisting of approximately 150 soldiers are being evaluated for their skills and proficiency in areas such as check point operations, cordon and search and convoy operations.
The NCARNG team, led by Major Jerry Baird, mission was "To provide assistance by observing, assessing and the advising the company from the 22nd Peacekeeping Battalion. The intent is to identify those techniques and practices that could best serve the company during the level 1 NATO external evaluation." The team of soldiers came in one week prior to the evaluation to assist the company in preparation for the evaluation.
This is the second consecutive year that a team of soldiers from North Carolina has worked with the Moldovans in their quest to become OCC certified. "We're pretty much half way through the OCC process," said LTC Craig Mix, Bilateral Affairs Chief (BAO) Chief in Moldova. "The OCC process has four phases and at the end of the most recent exercise we have two more to go in order for the company to be OCC certified. The significance of the OCC process is that at the end of the evaluation process you then have a certified company sized unit that can assist in any NATO led peacekeeping activities."