A group of experts of the Armed Forces of Austria is chemically testing munitions from storehouses of the National Army, which will be later used to train 25 Moldovan soldiers and representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice and of the Security and Information Service, IPN has learned from the Ministry of Defense.
Munitions expert Werner Kernmaier said the chemical analysis is one of the most important aspects of the process of training for the practical phase of the munitions management course, which will take place in September. It includes the determination of munitions’ safety and stability. “While in the National Army, we have checked the chemical state of munitions to see if they can be kept in storehouses and pose no threat during movement,” he stated.
According to Colonel Wolfgang Reitschmeid, who heads the multinational training group, the safety of servicemen and of the people near depots is a priority for the team of experts and for the OSCE Mission to Moldova, which supports the holding of the course “Management of arms and munitions stores”.
“Year by year, the munitions kept in special stores become dangerous and pose a threat to the safety of those using them and to the civil population. For us, as experts, it is important to know that the old munitions of the National Army depots, which are to be used within the practical phase of the given course, do not pose dangers. That’s why our major goal was to test them,” stated Colonel Wolfgang Reitschmeid.
The course “Management of arms and munitions stores” is held in three stages and forms part of the series of projects implemented based on a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Defense and the OSCE concerning the implementation of the complex program in the area of small arms, light weapons and conventional ammunition in Moldova, which was signed on October 28, 2010.
