SLOVENIA SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES REPORT,

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000015

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MARR SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES REPORT,
DECEMBER 2004



1. SUMMARY. The new FMF Training case was signed in
December and all documentation was completed in time to
use the case to send nine students to training in
January. The ACSA with Slovenia is not in force yet.


2. POLITICAL-MILITARY


A. FMF/FMS BUDGET

1) ODC submitted the FY07-12 FMF and IMET budget
request to HQ on 4 Jan. Slovenia does have uncommitted
FMF funds remaining but has plans to use the funds; all
new requests support NATO Force Goals or combat
capability.

2) The MOD requested a new FMF case for $100,000 to
purchase spares for their HMMWVs. The Slovenes want to
obtain spare parts for their 30 HMMWVs more quickly
than buying through commercial sales. The ODC is
discussing with the US Army the advantages and
disadvantages of blanket order cases and CLSSA cases to
determine which would be best for Slovenia.


3. KEY ISSUES AND SIGNIFICANT EVENTS


A. FMF CASES

1) ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING (S3-D-TAC). There are 36
Slovenian students in elementary classes and 48 in
intermediate classes, which continue until June. Twenty-
four Slovenian and nine international students from
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, and Macedonia completed an
advanced course in December and took listening,
speaking, reading, & writing exams based on STANAG 6001
criteria. The two teachers who were here TDY from
DLIELC departed on 17 December. ODC sent a request for
two TDY instructors to arrive in January and February
2005 but we may only be able to get one instructor.
The LTD chief attended a STANAG 6001 testing
conference, sponsored by the British Council, in Czech
Republic; the TDY was paid by the Marshall Center. An
amendment for $650,194 for this case was signed in July

2004.

2) BLANKET TRAINING (S3-B-OAC) The MOD requested a
Blanket Training FMF case for $100,000. We appreciate
the tremendous help and extra work from DSCA in pushing
this case thru the system as a priority. The case was
signed in Dec 04 and all documentation was completed in
time to use the case to send nine students to class in
January. The approval process for courses funded under
the training case will be the same as courses funded
under IMET.

3) DRILL INSTRUCTOR (S3-B-OAB). The drill instructor,
Sgt Garfield Lyons, arrived on 3 Jan and will be
working at the Vipava Training Center. Sgt Lyons will
observe Slovenia's basic training and suggest
improvements. Improving basic training is a high
priority for the Slovenes and they appreciate the US
Army providing an NCO to help in this effort.

4) DEFENSE PLANNING SYSTEM (S3-B-UAS) LOA for the
Defense Planning System was signed 24 Nov 04 for
$111,126. This case was originally requested before
FMF funds were frozen in 2003. An additional class on
Defense Planning will be added to the case at a later
date. CCMR, while in Slovenia for an MTT, discussed
training for this case with the Slovenes and have
provided ODC an outline of a course designed to meet
Slovenia's needs.

5) P&A DATA FOR NBC DETECTION HMMWV (S3-B-PBB). The
Army established a planning case for developing P&A
data for a HMMWV outfitted as an NBC detection vehicle.
P&A data are expected to be available soon. POTUS set
aside $1M of Slovenia's FY04 FMF funds for NBC
detection equipment and the set-aside could be used for
an NBC HMMWV.


B. FMS.

ASOC (S3-D-QAA). The Slovene MOD requested that the
Air Sovereignty Operations Center (ASOC) case be
amended to include an additional 36 months of


modernization and sustainment support. The official
letter of request was sent on 2 Sep 04. The amendment
is expected to cost $1,650,000 ($550,000 per year for
three years). The Slovenes recently requested that
this case be funded with FMF funds instead of national
funds.


C. DCS/CONTRACTOR.

GPS. The Slovenes have asked for an official
explanation of the US approval process to obtain P-
codes. ODC sent a message to EUCOM requesting an
explanation of the process and received an email
response from the J6 action officer but no official
response yet. The Slovene Director of Defense Policy
is now working the GPS issue too.


D. IMET.

1) Four students were processed for training; one for
December training and three for January. Due to late
receipt of the fund cite from SATFA we had to postpone
for several days the departure of a student to the
Infantry Captain Career Course (WCN 1145).

2) The Center for Civil-Military Relations (CCMR) at
the Naval Postgraduate School and the Personnel
Recruiting Department of the General Staff of the
Slovene Armed Forces hosted a workshop (14-16 December)
on "the Recruitment Process in Professional NATO Armed
Forces." The workshop proved essential to the Slovene
recruiting officials in the light of the recent
Professionalization of the Slovenian Armed Forces. It
provided case studies of NATO nations' recruitment
process and experiences, as well as some key best
practices ascertained from academic study. The
attendees were 12 NCOs and one officer in charge of
recruiting of enlisted personnel in regional offices
all over Slovenia. The ODC has received very positive
feedback from the participants of the workshop and
supports the follow-up event that will take place in
February 2005. ODC commends CCMR on selecting a
faculty team that provided insight on several, rather
than a single, NATO nation's recruiting process.
Especially invaluable for the Slovene recruiters proved
to be the knowledge and experiences shared by CW04
Jacob Klootwijk.

3) Three ECL tests were administered to 17 students in
December, all candidates for various FY05 IMET courses
and FMF S3-B-OAC case (IBOS seminar).


E. MARSHALL CENTER.

1) Slovenia nominated two participants for the "Program
in Advanced Security Studies." Both participants are
from the Slovene police.

2) Despite the fact that Slovenia was not invited to
nominate a candidate for "Program on Terrorism and
Security Studies," the Faculty of Social Sciences
expressed an interest in sending one of its staff to
the course. The justification included a statement
that this course would be of great assistance to the
faculty in developing a class on terrorism and the
means to fight it. The request was approved.


F. JCTP/SPP.

1) The BAO attended a meeting with the Ambassador to
receive the new Minister of Defense, Karl Erjavec on 21
Dec. The new Minister has no personal military
experience; he was previously involved in human rights
and the justice system. Also in attendance from the
Slovene government was the Director of Defense Policy
and the head of the minister's office.

2) The BAO is writing a memorandum to the Slovene
General Staff requesting clarification for the approval
process for bilateral affairs events. The Slovene
Armed Forces recently changed their procedures and
there is confusion, both internally and externally,
about their procedures.

3) The BAO will meet with the Slovene J-7 on 12 Jan 05


to continue developing concepts for FY2006 events. Five
events are being targeted toward enhancing the NATO
Force Goals of: NBC Recon/Decon, Intel Battalion, and
Aviation deployablity.

5) The BAO conducted a Video Teleconference with
Colorado SPPC to verify that the system works and can
be used for further coordination and possible "mini-
events". Video Teleconferencing with EUCOM is a little
more complicated since all VTC connections are secure.
However, it was discovered that these VTCs can easily
be modified to perform in an unclassified mode.

6) The BAO is still waiting for confirmation regarding
the Small Unit Event exercise approval from ECRA.


4. PERSONNEL/RESOURCES/LOGISTICS


A. PERSONNEL:

1) PERSPECTIVE GAINS: None
2) PERSPECTIVE LOSSES: None
3) ATTACHED PERSONNEL:
- Mary Jo Villalobos, Language Center Coordinator
- Kristin Pedroja, English Test Developer, one year
- Kathy Lance, English Teacher, one year
- John Stephens, English Teacher, one year
- Helen Prevost, English Teacher, one year
- Terry Jenkins, arrives 14 Jan 05 for 90-day TDY
- Sgt Garfield Lyons, S3-B-OAB, TDY NTE 90-days,
arrived 3 Jan 05
4) ODC CHIEF APPROVED TDY/LEAVE:
- MAJ Fredericksen, LV 3-7 Jan 05
- Mary Jo Villalobos, LV 3-4 Jan 05
5) RATING SCHEME CHANGES: None
6) EXTENSIONS/CURTAILMENTS: None


B. RESOURCES. Vehicles and ADP equipment are 100%
operational. The office AFN dish was struck by
lightning and was sent back to EUCOM (SFC Crouse) for
disposition.


C. ICASS. No issues.


D. LOGISTICS.

1) The BAO Driver's Non-Personal Services contract was
determined to be an illegal contract by the Embassy.
EUCOM is currently working with the Embassy to draft a
new Personal Services contract to replace the current
one. The NPS contract does not provide the protection
for FSN's employed by the Embassy which is based upon a
Memorandum of Agreement between the DoS and DoD dated
July 2004. Slovenia is being used as a test bed for
the new contract since contracts in other countries may
face the same challenge.

2) The BAO office is waiting for approval to proctor
the EUCOM Driver's exam for individuals that need to
drive the BAO vehicle.


5. CHIEF/BAO COMMENTS:

- The LTD Chief, Mary Jo Villalobos, received the
Bronze Medal from the Slovene military at a ceremony in
honor of her outstanding work managing the English
Language School. The Slovenes are expected to assume
management of the school this year and Ms Villalobos is
scheduled to leave Slovenia this summer.

- BAO comment: The new Defense Minister announced
several changes to the military leadership. Capt (N)
Renato Petric was appointed Commander of Force Command
in Vrhnika; previous Commander, Brig Bojan Suligoj,
will be Assistant of the Chief of GS SAF for
International Cooperation. Brig Jozef Zunkovic,
previous Chief of Operation Staff in GS SAF, was
appointed Commander of Command for Doctrine,
Development, Education and Training (equivalent to US
TRADOC). Brig Janez Kavar will be Assistant of the
Chief of GS SAF. Col Dragan Bavcar was appointed Chief
of Operation Staff in GS SAF.

- The ODC received a request to obtain operational
costs for the Stryker Brigade Combat Teams from the


Slovenes. The BAO is currently working on obtaining
these figures and understanding why the Slovenes want
this information.

- ODC asked the MOD for a letter requesting the ACSA
begin, as is required by the ACSA. Slovenia has not
signed the letter since they may want to make changes
to the Slovene version of the document. ODC
recommended that Slovenia provide the letter and, at a
later date, change the wording of the document if
desired.


6. POC is Lt Col Margaret Claytor at +386-1-471-2873,
FAX 471-1577, or email mclaytor@san.osd.mil.
ROBERTSON


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2005LJUBLJ00015 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED



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