“Vigilant Guardians” – Interacting forces

According to the scenario of the exercise held in KFOR’s Camp Novo Selo, the peaceful and not so peaceful protesters arriving from all directions were first just picking a fight, and then started shouting, hitting the riot shields and teasing. The line-up was provided by the Italian troops of the Multinational Specialized Unit (MSU), whose real-world tasks also include patrolling and peacekeeping. They endured the insults peacefully and calmly, playing by the book all along.

As the tension heightened, the KFOR Tactical Reserve Battalion (KTRBN) was called out and deployed on scene at short notice to assist the Italian forces with a platoon. This was when “all hell broke loose”: first, the protesters threw Molotov cocktails into the line-up, and then they started throwing water bottles and sticks as well. The force and the opposing force were pitted against each other, paintballs were raining on the legs, the batons were pulled out and the fight for the shields began. After the fight, the most stubborn protesters were snatched, and like in the real world, the Italian troops of the KFOR Multinational Specialized Unit searched them for cold steel, cutting tools and explosive devices. Subsequently, they prepared the medical documents and detained the troublemakers.

Using psychological means, the Tactical PSYOPS Team (TPT) takes part in each and every CRC event, so their presence at this exercise was important, too. They used loudspeakers to announce the messages approved by the COMKFOR. During the three-hour exercise, the command group was tasked with the command and control of CRC forces made up of soldiers of different nations.

“In the planning phase of the exercise, I considered it very important to make sure that the role-players’ activity was not known, so the participants of the CRC task and the leaders had to react to unexpected situations. They had to make decisions appropriate to the given situation – told us Lieutenant Colonel Tibor Dancs, the commander of the 31st rotation of the HDF KFOR contingent. “During the execution phase, cooperation with the various multinational subunits is the most important thing. We must learn to maneuver together, our command systems must be harmonized, we must know the standard operating procedures of the multinational subunits on the scene, and shape our own procedures accordingly” – said the lieutenant colonel.

The Hungarian soldiers serving with KFOR were assigned a number of different tasks at the exercise. Machine gunner Private First Class Attila Gergő Ungvári stood in the first line as a shield-bearer. “This is the best position of all to receive, because this is where you can see the most action, this is where everything happens most dynamically. So far, I’ve had very positive experiences while serving together with the Romanian and Italian colleagues” – he said.

As a personnel (S1) NCO, Sergeant Mónika Viszlóczki and her comrades were assigned the little more peaceful task of imitating a protesting crowd. “I like that I receive such special assignments in addition to my core duties in KFOR. I’m enjoying the exercise very much” – she said. Private First Class Márk Mező played a grenadier role at the exercise. “I was tasked with firing tear gas grenades when the crowd becomes unmanageable” – he said.

Non-lethal weapons are frequently used at CRC exercises, since KFOR’s objectives are peacekeeping, guaranteeing a safe and secure environment (SASE) and freedom of movement (FoM) for the population. One of the key lessons learned at the exercise is that there are no predetermined situations. The soldiers must react to a wide variety of situations with proper discipline. Each soldier is as much responsible for himself as for his comrades and the whole community – this is how Lieutenant Colonel Tibor Dancs summarized the lessons learned at the exercise.