Operation Vigilant Guardian

Opération Vigilant Guardian
Location	Belgium
Planned by	Ministère de la Défense
Objective	Protecting sensitive "points" of the territory from terrorism
Date	16 January 2015 (2015-01-16) – ongoing

Operation Vigilant Guardian , sometimes abbreviated OVG, is an operation of the Belgian army deployed in Belgium, following the Attacks of 7, 8 and 9 January 2015 and the dismantling of a terrorist cell in Verviers having foiled attacks imminent , to deal with the terrorist threat and protect the "points" sensitive territory. The operation was put in place January 16, 2015 and is still ongoing.

The operation was significantly strengthened during the year 2015, after the attacks of 13 November, notably through the implementation of absolute emergency in the Brussels area from 21 to 26 November 2015 and after the attacks of 22 March 2016 in Brussels .

The deployment of soldiers in the streets in Belgium is an unprecedented event since World War II.

Objectives

This military operation, in collaboration with the police, decided by the federal government, aims to secure localities "sensitive" deal with the terrorist threat as crowded public places (stations, shopping centers, squares), places of worship, transportation (subways, trains, stations, airports), government institutions (European institutions, embassies, parliaments), schools, universities, hospitals, ports, power plants nuclear, borders.

Forces engaged

At the beginning of only 150 military operation were mobilized, the number of personnel has steadily increased to reach the figure of 1,828 soldiers mobilized October 2016.

Transaction costs

For the year 2015 (beginning of the operation Saturday, January 17, 2015), the cost of deployment of the military in street amounted to 17.15 million euros. In 2016, only for the first trismestre, the cost was 12.01 million. For the second quarter, specifically from 1 st April to 2 July, the amount is expected to reach 22.05 million euros, according to government estimates. The rising costs of Operation Vigilant Guardian is explained, according to the Interior Ministry, the fact that the number of personnel has increased steadily since 2015.

Incidents

See articles: June 2017 Brussels attack and August 2017 Brussels attack June 20, 2017, a man enters the enclosure of the Brussels Central Station and tries to perpetrate a terrorist attack. This one, called Osama Z, will be killed by soldiers mobilized as part of Operation Vigilant Guardian, thwarting an attack.

This neutralization, in addition to saving aspect, reports of an exceptional nature, this is the first time since the Second World War that a soldier kills someone on the Belgian territory.

On 26 August 2017, a man was shot in the center of Brussels on the Boulevard Émile Jacqmain , after attacking with a knife military patrol, wounding one of them 9 . The federal prosecutor calls the terrorist attack aggression. It is claimed the next day by Daesh . A few days after the attack on 28 August 2017, the General Staff of the Rrmy Marc Thys, announced that the military should continue their patrols on the street, at least until 2020.

Foreign equivalent

The Vigilant Guardian transaction is directly inspired by the French military operation called Operation Sentinel implementation in the hexagon after the wave of attacks that hit France in January 2015.

Operation Temperer is the British Army equivalent operation.

Operation Banner was the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from August 1969 to July 2007, as part of the Troubles.

External links

• Belgian military official OVG page
• Belgian Army website (French)
• Belgian Army website (Dutch)
• The Special Forces Group of the belgian army (French)/(Dutch)