Joint Exercise held in Kosovo

The objective of the exercise, conducted near Prizen, was to co-ordinate the KFOR (Kosovo Force) personnel’s preparedness, air and road transport capabilities and tactical level planning. In addition to the continued performance of the patrolling and standby duties, the Hungarian servicepersons have demonstrated their competence in an exercise consisting of complex tasks now, the key dynamic moment of which was the liberation and evacuation of the persons held hostages.

The task started at Camp Vilaggio Italia, where in accordance with the military rules for decision-making, the Hungarian soldiers elaborated the operational plans (OPLANs) jointly with the forces subordinated to KFOR Multinational Battle Group-East (KFOR MNBG-E).

The KTRBN manoeuvre forces arrived at the location of the exercise by helicopters. The Hungarian detachment taking advantage of the terrain endowments, approached the enemy territory by camouflaging themselves. Following the screening of the territory and the liberation of the hostages, the subunit was reorganised and returned to the starting point by air lift. The rocky terrain made the task more challenging, but the soldiers successfully overcame the obstacles posed by the terrain.

In his evaluation after the exercise, KTRBN Commander Lieutenant Colonel Szabolcs Rácz, said: “I am basically satisfied with what I have seen, and with the preparation of the plans. There were minor errors, but this is natural in the performance of such a complex exercise. By learning from our errors, experiences, analysing them, we can improve; and in the future, in case of a similar task, we can more effectively use our strength in order to succeed."