KFOR-16 – Past the First Month

After arrival, the 1st company of the currently Portuguese-led KFOR TACRES Battalion was tasked with preparing to reach full operational capability (FOC). The Hungarian soldiers proved their skills and readiness on a complex Crowd and Riot Control (CRC) exercise (FOX 17-1), which was also inspected by COMKFOR Maj.-Gen. Giovanni Fungo. Operating in a simulated situation, the company was cooperating with Swiss, Austrian and Danish subunits, while the Portuguese contingent provided the exercise directing staff and the opposing force. The company successfully accomplished the mission and reached full operational capability.

The validation exercise, however, did not mean the end of the company’s tasks and training events. Following the successful exercise, the Hungarian peacekeepers carried out Fire Phobia training to overcome the fear of fire, combat life saver (CLS) training and helicopter-assisted airlift practices.

Meanwhile the 2nd Company, assigned to the KFOR Multinational Battle Group-East (MNBG-E), continuously prepared for carrying out its tasks, because in mid-April its personnel will also conduct a closing exercise to prove their skills and practice interoperability with other KFOR assets.

“The 1st Company is now ready to execute the tasks, and I think the 2nd Company is going in the right direction to be able to perform excellently during the April validation exercise. For the headquarters, however, most of the tasks are yet to come, of which planning and conducting Exercise Silver Sabre in April and the handover-takeover in the KFOR TACRES Battalion will be the most important ones in the following weeks", Lt.-Col. Attila Budai, KFOR-16 HUNCON Commander told us about the recent period.

Besides the task execution, the Hungarian contingent represented itself at several free-time sports competitions organized by other nations, and earned a number of awards. Two teams of the 1st Company performed well at the Portuguese-hosted man vs. man shooting match, in which Hungarian soldiers were placed first and second. At the last weekend of March, during a patrol championship held in Pec, the team of the Hungarian contingent came in fourth among the 16 teams that entered the event. Furthermore, in recognition of the outstanding performance of the 1st Company on the FOC validation exercise, CSM KFOR Command Sergeant Major Maurizio Sarasino presented a certificate to SFC József Balogh, a member of the 1st Company.