KFOR 15 members unified through Camp Atterbury trainingKFOR timelineContinued from Page 21 commander of the aviation task force, Spc. Taria Johnson, of the 32ndContinued from Page 21said her team of aviators — who expect to Military Police Company, last deployedhad their own little cliques. We are all get at least three calls a week for patient to Iraq in 2009 where her unit was mostlyfrom different places and even different and medical supply transfer in Kosovo — responsible for detainee operations.states altogether,” Gross said. “Now, you are right on pace with training at Camp She said she is thrilled with the trainingsee the entire KFOR coming together. You Atterbury.accomplished at Atterbury.see little things, like how many people sit “Everyone is doing very well and I’m “It’s actually nice to do actual militarytogether at chow time. We are really all happy with the way things are going,” she police operations.” Johnson said. “Wecoming together.”said.have true scenarios for the mission we’reLiethen agreed.Dooley-Menet said her team has going to do.”“These Soldiers may have come from applied a crawl-walk-run philosophy to The MPs will be responsible for all ofmany different units but, after training their training. The Soldiers, from the West the law enforcement on post. Nine 32ndhere together, they are leaving as one Bend-based 238th Aviation Regiment MP Soldiers have also been selected tocollective unit,” he said. “I am proud of and 248th Aviation Support Battalion, are the protective services detachment andtheir commitment and progress, and I am currently being validated on flying night will be responsible for safeguarding allproud to serve with them as part of Multi- missions by 1st Army — the organization distinguished visitors on the post.<strong>National</strong> Battle Group-East.”that certifies all units are competent toCapt. Luella Dooley-Menet,perform the mission prior to deploying.Continued on Page 23Col. Jeffery J. Liethen, commander ofthe 157th Maneuver EnhancementBrigade, passes the unit colors tothe incoming Headquarters Companycommander, Capt. Eric Okeson, duringa change-of-command ceremony atCamp Atterbury, Ind., Oct. 5. 157th MEBphoto by Capt. Joy Staab@easeExpressChanging of the guard for 157th HQ CompanyCapt. Joy Staab157th Maneuver Enhancement BrigadeCapt. Bradley Bucher, of Waukesha,formally turned over company commandresponsibilities of the 157th ManeuverEnhancement Brigade’s HeadquartersCompany to Capt. Eric Okeson, Chicago,during an Oct. 4 ceremony at CampAtterbury, Ind.Bucher — who assumed commandin March 2010 and spent a significantamount of time preparing the companyfor its Kosovo deployment — now isa member of the Joint ImplementationCommission, which will focus on bordersecurity and working with internationalforces in Kosovo.“We celebrate the trust and confidenceour leadership has placed in the incomingcommander, Capt. Okeson,” said Col.Jeffrey Liethen, 157th MEB commander.“He has his work cut out for him in thedifficult task of mobilizing and deployingour unit to Kosovo. He will most certainlysucceed if given the same loyalty anddevotion to duty you have provided Capt.Bucher.”“Thank you for all your hard work— it paid off,” Bucher told the companyformation. “Everyone trained hard toprepare for our deployment, and now thatwe are finishing the final phase of ourtraining, everyone can look ahead andfocus on their mission in Kosovo.”“I would like to thank Capt. Bucherfor getting us to where we are today,”Okeson said. “Your hard work is muchappreciated.”“He’ll be missed,” Spc. JessicaConnors said of Bucher. “Capt. Bucherdid a really good job at keeping usorganized and motivated, but this will be agood experience for Capt. Okeson.”Bucher is the son of Patsey and FloydBucher of Denmark, Wis. He graduatedfrom Pulaski High School in 1988 andLakeland College in 2004. He has beenmarried to his wife Jennifer for 13 years;they have two sons, Jake and Ryan.NATO foreign ministers agreedthat KFOR would remain in Kosovounless the UN Security Councildetermined otherwise.2008: Assembly of Kosovodeclared independence of theRepublic of Kosovo in February.NATO leaders agreed at BucharestSummit in April that NATO andKFOR would continue to work withauthorities and to support theUN , European Union and otherinternational actors to develop astable, democratic, multi-ethnicand peaceful Kosovo. In August,45 countries recognized Kosovo’sindependence; Serbia continuedto claim sovereignty of Kosovoas an autonomous province. InDecember NATO foreign ministersreaffirmed the presence of KFORin Kosovo, ending the KosovoProtection Corps and starting theKosovo Security Force.2009: Kosovo Security Forcebegan operations in <strong>January</strong>, oneday after the Kosovo ProtectionForce ceased activities. NATOdefense ministers decided in Juneto gradually adjust KFOR’s forceposture to a deterrent presence.2010: KFOR reduced to 10,200troops.<strong>2011</strong>: KFOR reduced to about5,500 troops, provided by 22NATO and 8 non-NATO countries.22 <strong>November</strong> <strong>2011</strong>-<strong>January</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
157th MEB members train for Kosovo missionContinued from Page 22The 157th MEB began its second legof the training in <strong>November</strong> at U.S. ArmyEurope’s Joint Multinational TrainingCenter in Hohenfels, Germany. Expertplanners and observer controllers (OCs)have made it a number one priority toensure that KFOR 15 is ready to face thecurrent situation.“We sent several OCs from differentteams over to Kosovo to observe the latest[tactics, techniques and procedures] andunderstand the operational environmentthere,” said Capt. John Denney, an OC atJMRC.That information is then given toscenario writers who develop the eventsthat Soldiers will be challenged withduring their training, Denney said.<strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> Soldiers make up the U.S.element of KFOR 15, and they noticedJMRC’s efforts to make training asrealistic as possible right away.“Early on in our training, the focuswas on a relatively steady state and calmenvironment in Kosovo,” Liethen said.“Things have drastically changed. It’svery obvious that the training programhere at Hohenfels has been modified toreplicate what is actually going on inKosovo right now so that will definitelybe a help in us conducting our mission.”The <strong>Guard</strong> Soldiers also have theunique opportunity to train with partnernations they will work alongside duringtheir deployment.“Anytime that we have the opportunityto train with our multinational partnersis a huge benefit for both understandinghow they operate and understanding theidiosyncrasies of their doctrine comparedto ours,” Liethen said. “Just being ableto communicate with those that speak alanguage foreign to ours is a big benefit.”Another advantage is the priordeployments and skill sets these <strong>Guard</strong>Soldiers bring to the table that will aidthem in the KFOR mission.“What we are hoping to do is take@easeExpressa lot of the experience theseSoldiers already have out of Iraqor Afghanistan,” Denney said.“We use those basics they haveused and put a Kosovo polish on itspecific to the deployment they aregoing to be seeing here shortly.”The transfer of authorityto KFOR 15 is scheduled forDecember, where these Soldierswill have a chance to implementthe training they’ve received andfurther the peacekeeping missionin Kosovo.Tech. Sgt. Jon LaDue, StaffSgt. Matt Scotten and Lynn Daviscontributed to this article.Above, Master Sgt. TraciStehula prepares to throw atraining hand grenade whiletraining at Camp Atterbury,Ind. At left, Soldiers fromthe 32nd Military PoliceCompany rehearse MilitaryOperations on Urban Terrain(MOUT) training. 157th MEBPublic Affairs photos by Capt.Joy Staab23 <strong>November</strong> <strong>2011</strong>-<strong>January</strong> <strong>2012</strong>
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