KFOR Change of Command Ceremony held for Greek Contingent

Courtesy Photo | KFOR commander Maj. Gen. Erhard Buhler gives a speech during the KFOR Change of Command Ceremony for the Greek contingency at Camp Rigas Fereos, Kosovo, Feb. 14.  

CAMP RIGAS FEREOS, KOSOVO

02.14.2011

Courtesy Story

Allied Joint Force Command Naples     

CAMP RIGAS FEREOS, Kosovo - A change of command ceremony of the KFOR Greek contingent took place here, Feb. 14.

The ceremony in Camp "Rigas Fereos” was attended by KFOR commander, Maj. Gen. Erhard Buhler. The outgoing Col. Georgios Hatzitheofanous handed over the command to Col. Lampros ZUMIS. Many distinguished guests and religious leaders attended the event.

Buhler expressed his gratitude to Hatzitheofanous for his strong commitment during his mandate and welcomed the new appointed commander, Zumis.

He highlighted the important role and the strong and professional contribution of Greek Contingent that operated in the Northern part of Kosovo as well as in the south.

Buhler marked the outstanding performance in all the operations they conducted, for example the successful "Joint Commitment North” operation.

On the same occasion he emphasized that the situation all over Kosovo has highly improved, and in general it can be assessed as calm and stable - also thanks to the great contribution of the population, of local political and religious leaders.

In a few days KFOR will finalize its reorganization and this means that KFOR, after having reduced its troops to around 5,000, it still will be fully operational, by being more flexible, mobile and especially by keeping a high readiness and professionalism of its soldiers. Two new Battle Groups will conduct operations Kosovo wide and they will be under Buhler's direct command. They have no fixed area of responsibility and are not the point of contact for the population. This will be the task of five Joint Regional Detachments in five Region of Kosovo. They are the points of contact and the KFOR-partners for all the Key Leaders and the population.

• Date Taken: 02.14.2011
• Date Posted: 03.02.2011 08:25
• Story ID: 66325
• Location: CAMP RIGAS FEREOS, ZZ