Sestava 1

: report2524/ Report and photo Pavol VITKOKFOR:Coming home after 11 years“In early July our company was assigned to the 2nd Tactical Reserve (TACRES) under the KFORCommander. We are on standby and must be ready to set out from the camp within 60 minutes afternotification. One reason why Slovak soldiers were entrusted with this task is that, according to BrigadierSeppo Tivonen (Finland), Commander of the KFOR Multinational Task Force – Centre (MNTFC), Slovaktroops are the best trained force, in spite of being the smallest unit subordinated to him,“ said Lt. Col.Jozef Zekucia, Commander of the Slovak Contingent in Kosovo, in mid-summer 2010.ne minute ahead of the set limit – well done,“ says Lt. Martin Sinay, a“Omember of the Slovak Contingent in KFOR, looking at his watch. Four minutesago, a mock alert was raised in Camp Šajkovac to check the response time of theRapid Response Team. Five soldiers managed to put on their gear, take their weapons,get into the car and set out on a mission. In view of the fact that the situation in Kosovohas grown increasingly tense after the wave of unrest in Kosovska Mitrovica at the beginningof July, such drills are inevitable. The tension was exacerbated by the fact thatthe International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, was expected to give a verdict onwhether or not Kosovo’ s declaration of independence violated international law.On patrolThe Ibar is a river in Kosovska Mitrovica, separating the Kosovo Albanian communityfrom the Kosovo Serb community. Having crossed the bridge, three Slovak soldiers withweapons on their shoulders get out of the patrol car on the Serbian side of the town.These soldiers, who live under rather difficult conditions in a provisional accommodationcamp just above the town, come across as resolute and confident peacekeepers. Theirpresence sends out a clear message that KFOR will not tolerate any violence. “A 22-memberSlovak platoon has been deployed in Kosovska Mitrovica. Together with two Swedishplatoons they are part of a company which is on permanent stand-by, ready to take actionwhenever called on to intervene,“ says 1st Lt. Ján Fedor, SinC of the Slovak Company.Moreover, his men have been tasked to protect EULEX personnel. EULEX operatesin Kosovo under the EU auspices. It assists local authorities in getting the police and judicialsystems up and running. “Our troops and Swedish soldiers patrol around the judicialcourt building, where EULEX is based. Also, our personnel man an observation post.We are ready to defend assigned positions, even using our heavy equipment’, says 1 Lt.Fedor. He knows what he is talking about – back in 2004 Slovak troops protected the Serbcommunity from an enraged crowd in and around the town of Obilič. Sadly, some of theorthodox churches were burnt down to ashes, but, most importantly, human lives wereAccording to Defence Minister Ľubomír Galko, the MOD willcontinue to approach our international obligations as top priority.Today, based in Czecho-Slovak Camp Šajkovac, 122 Slovak troopscontinue to perform their tasks, aimed at safeguarding peace andorder and protecting national minorities (while dozens of othersserve with KFOR HQs in Lipjan and Pristina). The Slovak Contingentoperates as part of the KFOR Multinational Task Force –Centre, together with Finnish, Swedish, Czech, Irish and Turkishforces. This task force will terminate its activities in KFOR this autumn.At the same time, Slovak troops will be considerably downsizedafter approx. 11 years.saved. For this reason, it is important to nip any unrest in the bud.Our soldiers prefer to be friendly with local people. When a passerby stops them,they say hello and exchange a few words in broken Serbian. Then they run into theirSwedish counterparts, shake hands with them, and continue with their duties until it istime to cross the Ibar River again and come back to their provisional camp.Close cooperation with Czech soldiers“If we did not cooperate with our Czech colleagues, we would have a lot moredifficult time in Kosovo,“ said Lt. Col. Jozef Zekucia, Slovak Contingent Commander, onthe day when Defence Minister Ľubomír Galko paid his first official visit to the Czech Republic.The Slovak Armed Forces have maintained exceptionally close relations with theCzech Army in KFOR since 2002. Back then the joint Czech – Slovak Battalion wasdeployed in Kosovo. Although its operation has been terminated, both contingentscontinue to operate side by side in the KFOR Multinational Task Force - Centre.“Our troops have been based in Czech – Slovak Camp Šajkovac for eight years,“ saidLt. Col. Zekucia, adding that “we equally share our duties protecting the camp. Slovakmedical personnel serve also in the Czech sick room. Moreover, our Czech colleaguesoften lend us engineering or heavy equipment with which our forces are not equipped.Also we have access to the Czech repair, maintenance and other facilities in the camp.In addition, they provide us with logistic support, ranging from electricity to equipmentmaintenance and repair. Naturally, we are charged for the services, but the costs are farmore favourable than those charged by contractors in Kosovo or in our home country.““We share the same values as well as the same historical background. What’s more,we also have the same goals in KFOR. This is why our relations are excellent,“ explainedLt. Col. Martin Kavalír, Commander of the Czech Contingent, pointing out that “280Czech personnel and 50 local workers work in Camp Šajkovac. This has already been the16th six-month rotation of Czech and Slovak units in Camp Šajkovac. “Over the time wehave managed to work as a perfectly coordinated team… The same is true for the two of us – earlier we servedtogether at Headquarters Allied Force Command Heidelberg (HQ FC Heidelberg),“ said Lt. Col. Zekucia, reflectingon their previous tour of duty.Fellowship and moraleAccording to Lt. Col. Zekucia, the cohesion of his unit can be clearly seen under stressful and tense situations.Officers and NCOs do their best to foster professional friendship, following the motto embroidered in theemblem of their rotation: “You will never walk alone“. By the way, the author of the emblem was an NCO in the16th rotation, Sgt. Maj. Marek Stretavský. “The worst thing that could ever happen is that someone gets isolatedand abandons himself. We are ateam and must perform tasks together.We depend on eachother. That is why the commanderand the teammates must pay attentionto any alarming behaviouralchanges and offer a helpinghand,“ says Chief of Staff Maj. AndrejStaško. He concludes that themost important thing for a soldierduring the time of his deploymentabroad is his family background.“We arrived in Kosovo on 18March. In May, when our firstbaby was due, I was lucky to be allowedto leave the unit and bepresent at the child’s birth. Ofcourse, I feel sad not to see myfirst-born daughter Caroline grow,laugh or cry. I do realize that whenI take her in my arms next time,she will be nearly six months old.But this is the downside of militaryservice. Nonetheless, I feel proudand honoured to be serving in amilitary operation abroad, and Iam determined not to lose thetrust of my commanders.“Commanders of the Slovak and Czech Contingents, Lt. Col. JozefZekucia (right) and Lt. Col. Martin Kavalír (left)Slovak Military Police before another patrol in July 2010Living up to their motto “You will never walkalone“, Slovak troops deployed in KFOR care forothers. After the recent devastating floods in Slovakia,they collected 800 euros in the Slovak Contingent.During their authorised leave, on 14 July,Platoon Commander 1st Lt. Ján Šepita and Sgt.Maj. Marek handed the donation to the citizensof Markovce in East Slovakia.SLOVAK ARMED FORCES 2010