Fort Buchanan troops deploy to Kosovo

Photo By Carlos Cuebas | Fourteen soldiers from the 398th Finance Detachment, U.S. Army Reserve-Puerto Rico, left the Caribbean island, May 3, towards a mobilization station in Texas, before traveling to Kosovo.  

FORT BUCHANAN, PUERTO RICO

05.03.2015

Story by Maj. Carlos Cuebas 

1st Mission Support Command

FORT BUCHANAN, Puerto Rico - Fourteen soldiers from the 398th Finance Detachment, U.S. Army Reserve-Puerto Rico, left the Caribbean island, May 3, towards a mobilization station in Texas, before traveling to Kosovo.

The troops from the largest U.S. Army command in the Caribbean will be providing military pay and contracts payment support, as part of the U.S. participation in the international peacekeeping mission in the Balkans.

“Basically we will be like a bank. We have a customer service section, disbursements and deposits, as well as paying department of defense’s contracts in the region,” said 2nd Lt. Jesus E. Reyes, the detachment’s officer in charge.

The detachment has been training for several months, conducting exercises at Camp Santiago Joint Maneuver Training Center and Fort Buchanan.

“The training has been very intensive. I am fully confident in the level of readiness of each and every member of this team,” added Reyes.

“I am anxious, but ready to do our job in Kosovo,” said Spec. Renaldo Velez, native of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, who was accompanied by friends, cousins, his girlfriend and his mother, Katherine Gaud-Cortes.

“I feel a mix of emotions right now. I feel happy because this is something he wanted to do. At the same time, I feel sad because I know he will be far away from his family. However, above all, I feel very proud of my son,” said Katherine Gaud-Cortes in a chocked up voice.

Brig. Gen. Jose R. Burgos, senior U.S. Army officer in the Caribbean, met the troops at the airport to personally shake their hands before their departure.

“You represent the U.S. Army Reserve and the United States. We are ambassadors. Always do your job with pride. We always like to conduct our missions with excellence,” said Burgos, while encouraging the troops to use social media to stay in touch with their family members.

According to a recent Stars and Stripes article, 13 years after 50,000 NATO troops entered Kosovo on the heels of a bombing campaign to stop Serbian militants from overrunning its former province, more than 5,100 allied troops remain to discourage tensions between ethnic Serbs in the north and the majority ethnic Albanians. The U.S. contingent is the largest, numbering 773 service members.

• Date Taken: 05.03.2015
• Date Posted: 05.04.2015 16:21
• Story ID: 162192
• Location: FORT BUCHANAN, PR