New NATO integration commander assumes role

Marián Kurilla became the new commander of the NATO Force Integration Team (NFIU) in Slovakia on Tuesday, replacing Colonel Peter Brauner in the position. Earlier this month, the post of deputy commander of the Slovak NFIU unit was replaced by Lukáš Kyrych. State Secretary for the Ministry of Defense Marian Majer thanked Brauner, whose command ran from 2019 to 2022, during a ceremony at the barracks in Vajnory. He also praised the deepening and intensification of communication and cooperation with the Hungarian unit of the NFIU and the Multinational Divisional Command-Center. The new command group headed by the commander and his deputy will be in charge of a total of 41 members, of which 21 are Slovaks. Other soldiers come from the Czech Republic, the United States, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom. The task of the Slovak NFIU unit is to support NATO's collective defense in the planning process, assist in training and joint exercises, and possibly ensure and coordinate the reception of allied forces in the given region.