OSCE trains Tajikistan border troops on patrol leadership

DUSHANBE, 4 April 2014 – Twenty officers from the Main Directorate of Tajik Border Troops completed today a regular five-week training course on patrolling and leadership, which was held as part of the OSCE Office’s patrol programming and leadership project.
A closing ceremony was held to mark the occasion, with representatives of Tajikistan's Main Directorate of Border Troops also in attendance.

Hans Peter Larsen, Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, congratulated the officers on completing the course and said: "Building the capacities of border guards from Tajikistan and Afghanistan plays a crucial role in strengthening security at the border between the two countries, and we remain dedicated to supporting such efforts."

The five-week course focused on planning and carrying out border surveillance missions using topographical maps, satellite images and other relevant tools. The course participants also acquired patrol planning and management techniques, and improved their skills in reporting and analysis, border patrolling in mountainous areas, alpine skills and first-aid in the field.

The graduates, current border guard officers ranked between warrant officer and major, are mainly from border detachments stationed along the Tajik-Afghan border.

This course was the eleventh in a row held under the patrol programming and leadership project, aimed at enhancing the capacities of Tajik and Afghan border staff in detection and interdiction of illegal cross-border movements.