Multinational cross-training in Kosovo

The large-scale exercise had a dual objective: on the one hand, to prepare the training audience for security challenges based on the particular security challenges of Kosovo – primarily on the basis of guaranteeing freedom of movement and maneuvering and of maintaining a safe and secure environment (SASE) –, and on the other hand, to close the integration process of a Romanian maneuver company that had joined the KTRBN in July.

Currently, the backbone of the HUN KFOR contingent is drawn from the personnel of the 2nd Grenadier Battalion of the HDF 30th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, whose partner battalion is the 191st Colonel Radu Golescu Infantry Battalion of Arad, which has declared one of its companies to the KTRBN. “The 25-year cooperation within the Hungarian–Romanian Mixed Peacekeeping Battalion has just culminated in our joint participation in a peacekeeping operation” – this was how KTRBN Commander Lieutenant Colonel Dávid Szent-Imrey emphasized the significance of the Romanian troops’ joining the unit.

The exercise was the last step in the integration process, since it served as a full mission capability exercise (FMC) of the pre-deployment training of the Romanian maneuver company, during which the personnel had the opportunity to demonstrate, in a live exercise, those capabilities that they had acquired in the training programs aimed at attaining FMC. As a result of the successful completion, after seven years, the KTRBN is now based on multinational cooperation again.

However, besides the Romanian troops joining the battalion, the involvement of law enforcement units also accounted for the large number of participants at the exercise, since among others, the forces of the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and the Multinational Specialized Unit (MSU) also took a lion’s share in its execution. “I think that our cooperation with other organizations is quite good, and in our experience, it is continuously getting better. Doing the planning together with the local forces, and the joint exercises are especially important, since they contribute to our ability to guarantee Kosovo’s security in a joint effort as effectively as possible” – said First Lieutenant Zalán Szakács, Chief of Operations and Training Section, KTRBN.

In consideration of the above, the Romanian Delta maneuver company of KTRBN was carrying out a close protection task in support of the Swiss Freedom of Movement Detachment (FoMD), at a venue of the cross-training, Camp Vrelo – awhich functions as an active police station and police training facility in Kosovo –, while the Swiss forces were removing barricades constructed by the opposing force (OPFOR). The Romanian company required an array of conventional military capabilities for the execution of their task. Afterwards, they were redeployed to Camp Kelly, where in the meantime, the emphasis was being laid on performing CRC tasks to deal with the protesters who gathered in the area. At the end of this phase, the engineers restored the area to its original condition, which was preceded by clearing the area of protesters.

“The cross-training went according to plans, and I’m very satisfied with every participant’s performance” – this was how KTRBN Commander Lieutenant Colonel Dávid Szent-Imrey summed up his experiences of the series of phases at the end of the day.