CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo - The 20th Armenian Contingent bids farewell to Multinational Battle Group-East and welcomes the 21st Armenian Contingent to Kosovo at the transfer of authority (TOA) ceremony, Dec. 8.
The 20th contingent completed a six-month deployment here and had the opportunity to work with both Kosovo Force 18 and 19.
U.S. Army Col. Michael Dittamo, the deputy commanding officer for MNBG-E, spoke to the incoming and outgoing contingents.
“Throughout the mission the Armenian Contingent has been steady, reliable, and highly professional no matter the mission or tasking,” said Dittamo. “You are warriors and you are true soldiers. I have no doubt that the incoming contingent will once again provide outstanding capabilities and become an important part of the battle group as we continue to maintain a stable, peaceful environment for the people of Kosovo.”
Maj. Gevorg Sayadyan, the outgoing commanding officer for the 20th Armenian Contingent, said the best part of the deployment was working with their multinational partners.
“We learned a lot from the other nations and we hope we left something good behind us too,” said Sayadyan. “We hand the job over to the 21st Armenian contingent and I assure you they will keep up the pace and do better than we did.”