DUSHANBE, October 13, 2009, Asia-Plus — On October 16, Tajik Defense Minister, Colonel-General Sherali Khayrulloyev, will attend the third stage of the military exercise for the new Collective Operation Reaction Forces (COFR) created within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) that was launched at the Matybulak training ground in Kazakhstan on October 2, according to the Ministry of Defense (MoD).
The main purpose of this stage, involving some 7,000 military personnel, is in rehearsing preparation and joint use of COFR and the operational command troops Yug (South) in the region of the collective security, the source at a MoD said.
We will recall that the initial stage of the military exercise marking the first official testing of COFR was held in Moscow on August 26-28. The first stage involved command-staff planning linked to the military-political aspects of coalition interaction.
The second stage was held in Belarus in late September and the third stage was launched in Kazakhstan this month. Military units joined the second and third stages.
The CORF was initiated by the Russian Federation in order to transform and expand by three to four times the existing CSTO rapid reaction dimension into a permanently ready, combat-capable force designed for intervention in crisis situations on the territory of CSTO member states.
