Four Azeri peacekeepers conferred with US award

Four officers of the Azerbaijani peacekeeping contingent in Iraq have been conferred with the Order of Achievement of the US Navy and Marine Corps, the Ministry of Defense said.

So far, five Azerbaijani officers have been conferred with this award. The Azerbaijani peacekeepers have been repeatedly awarded by the leadership of NATO and Multinational Forces.

A peacekeeping detachment was established within the Azerbaijani Army in 1997. Later a peacekeeping battalion was set up and is currently operating within a military unit in Baku. The servicemen of the battalion are intensively trained on tactical readiness, shooting, sport, foreign language, rules of communication with local population and other subjects for six months and sent to fulfill peacekeeping missions.

Presently, 150 Azerbaijani peacekeepers are serving in Iraq, 34 in Kosovo and 45 in Afghanistan.*