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    Balkan Hawk Exercise

    Balkan Hawk Exercise

    Photo By Sgt. John Montoya | Kosovo Security Forces use their firefighting equipment to douse a fire set by...... read more read more

    CAMP VRELO, KOSOVO

    06.29.2011

    Story by Spc. John Montoya 

    200th Public Affairs Detachment

    CAMP VRELO, Kosovo – Kosovo Security Forces, KFOR soldiers and European Rule of Law (EULEX) police participated in a joint exercise which highlighted the capabilities of these multiple forces in responding to a joint event June 29 at Camp Vrelo, Kosovo.

    Mock demonstrators from the Ukraine Contingency tested the EULEX riot control police, the Italian Carabinieri Police and the Turkish Contingency’s riot control unit. The mock riot escalated from a demonstration into a full blown panic scenario, with car tires being thrown and a general melee ensuing.

    Forces from the Kosovo Forces Tactical Reserve Maneuver Battalion, or KTM, reinforced both sides of the riot. KTM is made up of Hungarian and Portuguese Contingencies highly trained in riot control. Soldier’s from the Hungarian contingency fell into the rioting crowd and escalated the riot to another level. The Hungarians, playing the rioters, used different tactics to make their force more difficult to deal with, such as working in unison and blocking the road by lying passively on the ground and forcing the riot control to arrest individuals.

    The Portuguese, along with additional Turkish forces flown in on U.S. helicopters, helped to disperse the main body of the riot and arrested individual rioters who refused to comply with their orders. After the riot was dispersed, the arrested rioters were handed over to EULEX police.

    After the riot was quelled, the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) arrived on the scene and used their fire truck to extinguish the fire started by the mob. Once the fire was doused, their medics tended to a U.S. soldier who was acting as a casualty. The casualty was quickly tended to and then the KSF moved the casualty onto a U.S. Army helicopter for evacuation.

    While the main riot control exercise was taking place, the KSF explosive ordnance disposal team also discovered a dummy bomb in the area, and they responded to it swiftly and efficiently. The KSF EOD specialist demonstrated the proper procedure of identifying explosives and disposing of them safely.

    The event demonstrated KSF’s capabilities of working with Kosovo Forces and EULEX, but it also shows the progress the KSF has made toward handling unexploded ordnance and fighting fires. The people in Kosovo have a force capable of keeping the peace and clearing the remaining ordnance in the country.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 06.29.2011
    Date Posted: 07.22.2011 05:38
    Story ID: 74120
    Location: CAMP VRELO, ZZ

    Web Views: 67
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN