Use of the river flotilla to provide assistance to civil authorities in the events of severe flooding

Ever more frequent natural disasters, such as snowfall, strong earthquakes, and severe flooding, require, in addition to the usual forces, the use of the Serbian Armed Forces’ units to provide assistance to civil authorities in the common struggle against their devastating consequences, which have lately been the most common causes of endangering general security of our society. An important place in the Serbian Armed Forces’ third mission, especially when it comes to assisting civil authorities in the events of severe flooding, has been assigned to the River Flotilla, with all its human, material, and organizational assets. This paper primarily aims to find a successful model of using the River Flotilla in an integrated protection and rescue system of the Republic of Serbia. The model suggested in this paper represents a universal and flexible approach to dealing with unpredictable, dynamic and complex challenges, risks and threats, based primarily on the implementation of relevant activities and actions before, during and after an emergency situation, and applying the existing doctrinal solutions and practical experiences gained during the use of the River Flotilla’ forces in providing assistance to civil authorities in the phases of prevention, response, and elimination of the consequences.