DEMOCRACY AND SECURITY in Southeastern Europe, No 1

Re gi o nal Expe ri e nces
Cro a ti an He li co pte rs
in Ko so vo
After it jo ined NA TO as a fu ll-fla gged me mber la st ye -
ar, the Re pu blic of Cro atia jo ined the NA TO-led pe -
ace-ke epi ng Ko so vo Fo rce (KFOR) on Ju ly 2, 2009. On
Ja nu ary 20, 2010, the thi rd Cro ati an mi li ta ry co nti nge -
nt (HRVCON), led by Ma jor Ma ri jan Sko ri ja, re pla ced
its co lle agu es from the se co nd fo ur-mo nth ro ta ti on in
the yo ung Re pu blic of Ko so vo.
By: Antonio Prlenda
Cro ati an Air Fo rce
he li co pte rs fly for the fi rst
ti me as pa rt of KFOR wi thin
a NA TO-led ope ra ti on
The co nti nge nt, sta ti oned in the Bo ndste el ba se ne ar
Uro se vac/Fe ri zaj, co nsi sts of the he li co pter di vi si on,
wi th two Ru ssi an-ma nu fa ctu red tra nspo rt he li co pte rs
Mil Mi-171 [ Hip from the Mu lti pu rpo se He li co pter
Squ adron (EVH) of the Cro ati an Air Fo rce and Anti
Ai rcra ft De fe nse of Lu cko he li po rt.
The re are 20 pe ople in the co nti nge nt: 12 pi lo ts, fi ve
te chni ci ans, and one si gna lman, and for the fi rst ti me,
the co nti nge nt inclu des one fe ma le pi lot, and one fe -
ma le te chni ci an. The Cro ati an te am can inde pe nde ntly
se rvi ce and ma inta in he li co pte rs as pa rt of the re gu lar
che ckup after 100 flyi ng ho urs, when the he li co pte rs
mu st be se rvi ced by the Air Fo rce Te chni cal Ba tta li on
of the 91 st Air Fo rce Ba se in Za greb.
The author is a commentator
on military affairs and the
manager for public affairs of
the MITA group in Sarajevo
A co uple of da ys be fo re the fi rst ro ta ti on was co mple -
ted, me mbe rs of the fi rst HRVCON we re our ho sts in
the Bo ndste el ba se. Sha ri ng the ir ti me on the gro und
wi th UH-60 Bla ckha wk he li co pte rs from the US Ala -
ska Na ti onal Gu ard, the cre ws flew over Du bro vnik,
Mo nte ne gro and Alba nia to Ko so vo.
The ba sic mi ssi on of the Cro ati an co nti nge nt is to tra -
nspo rt pe ople and ca rgo, so me thi ng that is pa rt of the -
ir re gu lar du ti es in Cro atia. The co mma nder of the
fi rst HRVCON, 37-ye ar old Ma jor Mi cha el Kri za nec,
also the co mma nder of the Mu lti pu rpo se He li co pter
Squ adron, was ve ry ha ppy wi th how the mi ssi on is go -
ing: the re we re no inci de nts or te chni cal fa ilu res, ne -
ither for the fi rst or se co nd co nti nge nt .
HRVCON is di re ctly su bo rdi na te to the KFOR co mma -
nder who co mma nds the ta cti cal re se rve fo rces — cu -
rre ntly Ge rman li eu te na nt ge ne ral Ma rkus Be ntler
who is ba sed in Pri sti na,. This me ans that Cro ati an he -
li co pte rs are often enga ged in ra pid de plo yme nt exe -
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