KFOR-9 HUNCON Reaches Full Operational Capability

Because the joint Hungarian–Portuguese KFOR Tactical Reserve Maneuver Battalion (KTM) is a first echelon unit, it is essential that the company be capable of inserting troops by airlift. Usually, the Mi-171 helicopters of the Croatian Air Force are used in this role, but the soldiers of the maneuver company rehearsed with all helicopter types in service with KFOR.

In the interest of successful task execution, equipment and personnel from other KFOR units also join the operations conducted by the KTM Battalion. To ensure effective interoperability among the forces during the exercise and the subsequent everyday routine, they need to hold joint training exercises like the present one, which was carried out in cooperation with a Swiss EOD subunit and Freedom of Movement Detachment (FOMD) and a water cannon subunit of the German armed forces. Furthermore, the subunits of the International Military Police (IMP) and the members of the Tactical PSYOPS Team (TPT) of the KFOR Headquarters also participated in the training exercise.

By the end of the training exercise, the Hungarian maneuver company Charlie was ready to demonstrate its professional skills and resolve in executing the assigned tasks at a Full Operational Capability (FOC) exercise. The planners of the exercise created a fictitious situation which resembles a real-life one that may occur in the area of operation.

The Hungarian soldiers had a hard time during the CRC task because the Opposing Force (OPFOR) was drawn from the Portuguese Bravo Company – another subunit assigned to the KTM Battalion – whose members used were continuously trying to hold up and delay the advancing maneuver company with all available means, and to deny to it the site which was to be secured. Molotov-cocktails went off during the exercise, and the “rioters" used tractor tires while trying to break through the line of the KTM, but it managed to keep them from breaching the line. The rioters also set up road blocks too, so the EOD and the FOMD were called in to remove them.

The water cannon played an important role in bringing the aggressively behaving crowd under control, and the BTR armored personnel carriers (APCs) of the maneuver company also arrived on the spot. At the end of the mass demonstration, the IMP took into custody the persons who had committed atrocities during the protest.

At the lessons learned conference held after the exercise, the exercise sponsors and the commanders of the units participating in the exercise discussed the conduct of the operation, so they can further develop the operational capabilities of the forces. Having successfully overcoming this obstacle, Charlie Company has integrated into the KTM Battalion and is now ready to deploy in the area of Kosovo anywhere any time if the commander of KFOR gives the order.

Photos by the author