Sixth Rotation at Halfway Point – Reporting from Kosovo

Szöveg: László Szűcs | 2012. június 3. 6:00

The mission of the sixth rotation of the HDF KFOR contingent (KFOR-6 HUN CON) serving in Pristina, Kosovo has reached halfway point, as three months have passed since their arrival in the area of operations. We asked Lt.-Col. András Polyák, the commander of the contingent about the Hungarian peacekeepers’ recent and upcoming tasks.

The first soldiers of the KFOR-6 HUN CON deployed to Kosovo with the logistic preparation and acceptance section on February 10. In the second phase, the main forces commenced their peacekeeping service with KFOR one week later on February 17, Lt.-Col. András Polyák told us.

The personnel of the KFOR-6 HUN CON is mainly drawn from the HDF 5th ‘Bocskai István’ Infantry Brigade. Most of them have come from their home station in Debrecen, while the rest have arrived from 13 other military organizations. There are seven servicewomen serving with the nearly 200-strong contingent, and for 43 per cent of the personnel the present one is their first mission abroad.

The contingent is currently based in Camp Slim Lines, Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, next to the KFOR HQ where its members are serving together with Portuguese peacekeepers, the commander told us. He added that the Hungarian contingent consists of three parts. In addition to the headquarters, which is the top-level command element of the contingent, there are the maneuver element and the support element. The former is made up of a maneuver infantry company and a Liaison Monitoring Team (LMT), which is assigned to the contingent but is under direct operational command and control of the commander of KFOR (COMKFOR). The support element is responsible for supporting the work of the maneuver company and the whole contingent. In addition, the contingent is responsible for providing health care, financial and logistic supply for the Hungarian officers and NCOs serving with the KFOR mission.

The maneuver company forms part of the Portuguese–Hungarian KFOR Tactical Reserve Maneuver Battalion (KTM), a rapid reaction force which directly reports to COMKFOR.

“The area of responsibility of this rotation covers the whole of Kosovo", the lieutenant-colonel said, adding that the mission of the Portuguese–Hungarian battalion is the same as KFOR’s core mission, which is to ensure freedom of movement in the area of the country and to maintain a safe and secure environment for the population. What is more, they have to do this impartially, so that they must not show bias towards the Albanians or the Serbs. Additionally, the Hungarian troops are ready to carry out crowd and riot control (CRC) tasks, to do presence patrolling, to protect properties with designated special status (PDSS) and to field and operate vehicle checkpoints (VCPs), Lt.-Col. András Polyák stressed.

Due to the KTM’s special situation, one cannot know the exact nature of the Hungarian soldiers’ taskings for the next three months of their tour of duty abroad. One thing is for sure: they are preparing for the probable tasks in cooperation with the Portuguese troops.

Fortunately, the Hungarian peacekeepers serving in Kosovo have some free time besides the constant stand-by duty. Each week they devote one day to rest and recuperation (R&R), the commander said, telling us that everybody wants to spend this day the most useful way. Internet connection is available in every containerized housing unit – each one accommodates two peacekeepers –, so the personnel can use the World Wide Web to get in touch with their family members at home. All this helps them to deal with the problems arising from their absence from home. Moreover, the present one is the first Hungarian KFOR contingent to complete its six-month mission without paid leave.