Photo By Spc. Breanna Bradford | Soldiers from the United States, Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Denmark,...... read more read more
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ZEMIANSKE KOSTOL’ANY, SLOVAKIA - Under a bright blue sky, a display of flags from eight different NATO countries flew as the opening ceremony commenced for the 13th edition of exercise Toxic Valley on September 8, 2025. Soldiers from the United States, Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Denmark, and Belgium proudly stood in formation, prepared to begin training together and building readiness throughout the exercise. Notable attendees included the United States Embassy Bratislava Deputy Chief of Mission, Heather Rodgers, and Brigadier General Ferdinand Murin of the Slovak Armed Forces.
Toxic Valley 25 is a multinational, open-air chemical warfare agent collection and assessment training for CBRNE response teams and mobile laboratories. The ceremony marks the beginning of the two-week exercise that fosters close cooperation in a multinational environment.
The ceremony began with a parade led by the Military Music Band of the Slovak Armed Forces, which played celebratory tunes and the Slovakian national anthem, “Lightning Over the Tatras.” The ceremony also featured speeches from the exercise director, Colonel Oliver Toderiska, and Brigadier General Ferdinand Murin of the Slovak Armed Forces. Both leaders addressed the formation of multinational Soldiers, expressing the unique opportunity to train alongside NATO partners and allies.
U.S. participants include Soldiers and teams from the 110th Chemical Battalion, 48th Chemical Brigade and the 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). The exercise aims to train these teams in sampling and identification of chemical agents using realistic training scenarios. Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the Slovak Armed Forces will execute scenarios as one team, allowing them to learn from each other and test standard operating procedures together to create more cohesion.
“This is providing very unique opportunities to train your skills, and this exercise will provide space for your cooperation, for sharing of knowledge, and maintaining our interoperability,” said Brigadier General Ferdinand Murin. “This is an opportunity to verify procedures, test readiness, and share values.”
The Slovak Armed Forces are able to create realistic training scenarios and opportunities to build interoperability for NATO partners and allies largely due to the unique training location in Slovakia.
Murin highlighted the importance of the training area in Zemianske Kostol’any, emphasizing how it is “one of the few in Europe where training and testing could be done with real chemical warfare agents, of course under very strict safety measures.”
The United States and Slovakia are committed to strengthening their partnership through joint training during Toxic Valley 25, providing both nations with opportunities to learn from one another and share valuable knowledge.
| Date Taken: | 09.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.09.2025 15:45 |
| Story ID: | 547690 |
| Location: | ZEMIANSKE KOSTOL’ANY, SK |
| Web Views: | 17 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Toxic Valley 25 Commences in Slovakia, by SPC Breanna Bradford, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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