Multinational air operation takes flight in Kosovo

By Sgt. Erick YatesSeptember 21, 2015

Multinational air operation takes flight in Kosovo
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Croatian, Slovenian, Swiss and U.S. Army flight crews soar over Kosovo during a multinational, eight-ship helicopter mission, testing the flight crews' ability to operate as one team, Sept. 16, 2015, out of Camp Bondsteel and over several Kosovo forc... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Multinational air operation takes flight in Kosovo
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Multinational air operation takes flight in Kosovo
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Kevin Dowdey, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot, and Staff Sgt. Kathryn Rylander, a flight crew chief, both deployed to Kosovo, with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, out of Los Alamitos, California, take a last look a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Multinational air operation takes flight in Kosovo
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Croatian, Slovenian, Swiss and U.S. Army flight crews take off from Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, for a multinational, eight-ship helicopter mission, testing the flight crews' ability to operate as one team, Sept. 16, 2015, over several Kosovo force instal... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Multinational air operation takes flight in Kosovo
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Flight crews from Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland and the U.S. fly their respective helicopters over Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, during a Sept. 16, 2015, multi-ship aviation exercise, held to test the flight crews' ability to communicate with each other d... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo (Sept. 18, 2015) -- Croatian, Slovenian, Swiss and U.S. Army flight crews soared over Kosovo for a multinational, eight-ship helicopter mission, testing their ability to communicate during a large aviation exercise, Sept. 16, which took them over several Kosovo force, or KFOR, installations.

The event incorporated three NATO member nations, and allowed the allied aviation flight crews, planners and leaders to build interoperability between one another.

The Multinational Battle Group-East, or MNBG-E, Southern Command Post, also known as its aviation Task Force Hurricane, put the 1.5-hour training event together to establish operating procedures for multinational flight crews conducting combined missions. The multi-ship exercise was a way for NATO aviation forces in Kosovo to measure one another's capabilities.

"This training helps establish relationships with forces here that are conducting air operations," said U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Kevin Dowdey, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot deployed to Kosovo with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, a U.S. Army Reserve unit out of Los Alamitos, California.

"This is a good opportunity to measure the capabilities of each other and learn how to coordinate conducting missions together," he said.

The pilots from the other participating nations also said the multi-ship operation was a good way to see how all the forces could identify procedural barriers and accomplish the mission.

"It would be good to see more missions like this," said 2nd Lt. Tobija Cukjati, a helicopter pilot with the Slovenian Armed Forces.

This training allows for everyone to get familiar with communicating, and see the similarities and differences each military force has when doing air operations, he said.

"We started off with the basics for this exercise today," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Behuniak, a Connecticut National Guard pilot from 1st Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment, out of Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

If all the air elements assigned to Kosovo have to work together, everyone has to be able to understand one another so the mission can be conducted properly and safely, he said.

Part of the mission for KFOR's multinational forces is to work with civil authorities and ensure a safe and secure environment, and freedom of movement, in Kosovo.

Staff Sgt. Kathryn Rylander, a U.S. Army Reserve flight crew chief also from the 2-238th, said that training with multinational forces to conduct a large multi-ship air operation is a rare opportunity worth seeing put into action, once the planning is complete.

MNBG-E's aviators plan to conduct similar air exercises in the future, incorporating additional layers of complexity to increase each mission's training value. First and foremost, these forces' mission is to support NATO's peace support mission in Kosovo. Throughout exercises such as these, their mission comes first, and an appropriate number of aircraft remain available to support requirements on short notice.

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