 U.S. Military
The late-May deployment will be almost 90 years to the day that the Missouri National Guard mobilized for World War I, said Brig. Gen. Larry D. Kay, commander of Kosovo Forces 10 Multinational Task Force East and assistant adjutant general of Missouri. In fact, he planned to honor a particular Soldier at the Guard's deployment ceremony in Columbia, Mo. Capt. Larry Nannemann of the Delta Battery, 129th Field Artillery Regiment, holds the same position that Harry S. Truman held when the future president was deployed for World War I. The parallels between that war and the Missouri Guard are relevant to Kay for another reason: Kosovo's history. "This region is the region of the origins of World War I. Even today, it's very unstable. There's a lot of ethnic tension, lots of unemployment, a recent history of ethnic cleansing and reprisals. With anything that's huge, it all begins in a local area, then turns into a regional issue, then an international one," he said. "The idea here is to not let what we know is bad go beyond the borders of Kosovo." The Missouri Soldiers will join reserve and active duty Soldiers from all over the country, as well as troops from Armenia, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Ukraine to promote peace in the former Yugoslavian region of Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia on Feb. 17. The peacekeeping operation in Kosovo has been in place since June 1999, after NATO launched air strikes to stop the ethnic cleansing and fighting between the Serbs and ethnic Albanians. The 1,054 Missouri Soldiers, along with 300 troops from other states, will make up the 110th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. They will be based at Camp Bondsteel in southeastern Kosovo and have peacekeeping duties in one-fifth of the area. Their mission is broad-based: Maintain a safe environment. That could include everything maintaining a presence, manning checkpoints, protecting national heritage sites, escorting minorities or ensuring the safe passage of humanitarian workers. Kay said the major institutions in the newly independent country, such as government, police and judicial, are fledgling, volatile and have lots of staff turnover. One of the goals of the missions is to work with the Kosovo police officers and security officials to help them maintain peace and order themselves. "As we get them to do more, we do less. That's our exit strategy," he said. NATO Soldiers might be called upon to help with crowd control or relief if there is a natural disaster, for example. The poor infrastructure of the country can make natural weather phenomena even worse. Landslides and storms can block roads, for example. The main conflict is a historical one between the ethnic Albanians and Serbs. National pride, as well as religious differences among Islam, Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic followers, all come into play. Most of the problems Kosovo is experiencing now, Kay believes, have more to do with money than ideology. The country's vulnerable condition and high unemployment have made it a magnet for people Kay calls "bad actors," criminals who traffic in drugs, weapons and international white slavery, as well as a thriving black market of legal items. The NATO forces have the authority to intervene in criminal activities or civil unrest or help the local authorities do so. Kay sees a big part of the Soldiers' role as a deterrent, similar to a sheriff constantly patrolling his area. "A lot of it is simple deterrence on our part, but with a high level of readiness. We're not there to threaten but to ensure the promises of the U.N.," he said. "We will be the constant in a world of variables. We will be there while they determine what they want to do." The training for this mission will be extensive because it not only includes preparation for a combat mission, but for peacekeeping duties, as well. Historically, the KFOR mission has also included demilitarizing the Kosovo liberation forces, demining, reconstruction, relocating displaced citizens, medical assistance, as well as deterring the crime, protecting minorities, helping rebuild the nation's institutions, border patrol, security and public order. The KFOR Soldiers have a longer training period than Soldiers going to Iraq or Afghanistan because of the duel missions. For example, they must know the Rules of Engagement and be well versed in nonlethal methods. Kay is reassured because half of the Soldiers have combat experience. That level of maturity ensures that Soldiers can handle the situation if they have to defend themselves or even keep it from escalating to the point that lethal force is necessary. Individual units of the Missouri National Guard have been training in-state since February. The entire group got together for their farewell ceremony with plans to arrive at Camp Atterbury by April 4. The command element of the 110th has been at the camp since early March for training. Camp Atterbury will conduct the first training the entire brigade, which is newly formed under the Army's brigade combat team organizational structure, will undergo as a group. The Soldiers will be trained and validated on the common warrior tasks and individual tasks, as well as cultural and language training on the Balkans region. Kay said Soldiers who served in previous Kosovo missions will be on hand to help with training. After Camp Atterbury, the task force will travel to the Joint Multi-National Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, where Soldiers and leaders will be placed in realistic tactical situations that might arise while in Kosovo. After final validation at JMRC, the task force will deploy to Kosovo. Kay said his KFOR 10 Soldiers will spent some time working alongside the KFOR 9 group, many of whom are from Kansas and have served with some of his Soldiers. After a change of command ceremony, the KFOR 9 personnel will leave. Kay said his training at Atterbury has been positive and helpful for the upcoming mission. "The facilities are absolutely wonderful; the training here is world-class. The institutional memory of the U.S. and Kosovo is here. I feel at home here, a real partnership about getting us ready for Kosovo." |
