Defence team: Alan Talakic, Diane Hatfield, Lt Col Stephen Croft

Who are we?
The Defence Section, British Embassy in Sarajevo, consists of a British Army Officer, a UK Ministry of Defence Civil Servant and a locally employed member of staff.
 
Defence Attaché – Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Croft, represents the UK’ s Chief of Defence Staff and Ministry of Defence in BiH and is the military adviser to Her Majesty’s Ambassador.

Defence Section Administrative Officer – Miss Diane Hatfield.
 
Defence Section Support Officer - Mr Alan Talakic.
 

Why are we here?
The United Kingdom works to promote peace and security in Central and Eastern Europe. Our objective is to assist in the development of stable, sovereign and democratic states. We contribute in the reform and modernisation of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Armed Forces and  government bodies that enhance national security on the way towards Euro-Atlantic integration principally the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
More information on BiH is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office webpage.


What do we do?
The Defence Attaché and his team drive a wide-ranging bilateral programme and actively participate in multinational projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina mainly with the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces. The most active areas are:

• Defence Reform - offering advice and assistance to the Defence Reform process particularly in the policy development areas of Reserve Forces, the Regimental System, Resettlement, Initial Officer Training, and English Language Training.
• Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) destruction in conjunction with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in order to make BiH safe and secure.
• Military English Support Project (MESP) delivered by the British Council to enhance BiH’s interoperability in international military organisations.
• Professional Development Training for BiH’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Armed Forces (AF) personnel both in the UK and locally in preparation for NATO membership.
• Support to the Peace Support Operations Training Centre (PSOTC), the UK conceived centre of excellence for staff training in BiH and the Region.
• Co-lead nation of the NATO Trust for Redundant Personnel in conjunction with International Organisation for Migration (IOM).