Lebanon: UN force sharpens skills with live fire training exercise

The Field Artillery Group, part of the Quick Reaction Force of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) carried out a major live fire training exercise today to hone its skills and expertise.

“The Quick Reaction Force’s field artillery battle group was already highly trained to conduct fire missions in support of UNIFIL before being deployed to Lebanon,” said Major Bertrand Taddei, an officer involved in the exercise, which was held near the Force’s headquarters at Naqoura in southern Lebanon.

“However every professional soldier needs to regularly hone his skills. Training is of the utmost importance to guarantee the accuracy needed to avoid any collateral damage in the case of combat action,” he added.

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) cooperated in ensuring security, both at sea and on the ground.

To limit any potential disturbance to the local population, targets for the exercise were located at sea to reduce noise in any inhabited area and the firing position was located between the coastal road to Naqoura and the shoreline to prevent blocking local traffic.

In a six-hour period, the battle group fired 76 rounds of artillery at targets located off the coastline, the mission stated.