DEMOCRACY AND SECURITY in Southeastern Europe, No 1

Pho to: 1. HRVCON
Cro ati an Mi-171[ he li co pte rs are acti ve at ri ot co ntrol exe rci ses
rci ses and the pu llo ut of anti-ri ot fo rces. The 24-se ater
Mi-17 1[ he li co pte rs – the su cce ssor to an older mo -
del co mmo nly used across mo st ex-Yu go slav sta tes—
be at all other KFOR ai rcra fts.
“We are flyi ng all over Ko so vo, day or ni ght, re ga rdless
of we ather co ndi ti ons, , and we spe nd the sa me amo -
unt of ti me in the air as we used to in Cro atia,” sa ys
Kri za nec. “Eve ryo ne who we wo rked wi th in KFOR is
abso lu te ly ha ppy wi th the ca pa ci ti es and ca pa bi li ti es of
the se he li co pte rs. They are also ve ry sa ti sfi ed wi th our
appro ach to mi ssi ons and wo rk. The re was not a si n-
gle co mpla int re la ted to pro ce du res, tra ini ng sta nda -
rds or po ssi ble se cu ri ty vi ola ti ons. The re is no thi ng
new or di ffi cu lt for us in flyi ng over Ko so vo, which pro -
ves that we are we ll-pre pa red.”
Ba sed on its war expe ri ence and the NA TO exe rci ses
it has atte nded si nce 2002, the Cro ati an Air Fo rce de -
ci ded to esta bli sh pe rma ne nt he li co pter cre ws and fo -
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Vi si ti ng Cro ats from Ko so vo
Due to the na tu re of the ir mi ssi on, Cro -
ati an ai rmen in Ko so vo do not ha ve a lot
of co nta ct wi th the lo cal po pu la ti on. All
KFOR ba ses employ lo cal sta ff, ma inly
Se rbs, Alba ni ans, Cro ats and Bo sni ans,
and inte ra cti on in the ba ses is re gu lar
and smo oth. “Pe ople do the ir jo bs and
are not inte re sted in the fla gs on our uni -
fo rms”, sa ys Kri za nec. Aro und 500 Cro -
ats li ve in the vi lla ge of Ja nje vo, whe re
me mbe rs of HRVCON often go for the
Su nday mass. The re are only 50 Cro ats
le ft in Le tni ca, and Cro ati an ai rmen we -
nt for a pi lgri ma ge the re for the Ho ly
Ma ry ho li day, whe re the so-ca lled Bla ck
Ho ly Ma ry is tra di ti ona lly ce le bra ted.
Pho to: Anto nio Prle nda
A he li co pter crew is usu ally ma de of a ca pta in,
co pi lot, and fli ght te chni ci an