FERIZAJ, Kosovo — When Multinational Battle Group-East Commander, U.S. Army Col. Ros L. Gammon IV, challenged his Soldiers to help "build the alliance" in Kosovo, the Soldiers didn't take his words lightly.
Not long after taking over the MNBG-E mission, the Soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard's 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division sprang into action, partnering alongside the Kosovo Security Force for individual skills training in Ferizaj, Kosovo, April 4-8.
Throughout the joint exercise, members of the 2nd IBCT, 28th ID, partnered with KSF instructors to provide real-world scenarios for cadets to complete during squad and platoon size maneuvers and marksmanship drills.
Some of the scenarios included responding to a terrorist threat, coming under an ambush and reacting to contact.
"The training was very good, motivation was high and everyone knew their mission, concentrated, and got it done," said Sgt. 1st Class Raymond Nauyokas, equal opportunity advisor for the 2nd IBCT, 28th ID, and instructor for the maneuver training portion. "It was very successful."
Although the cadets earned the respect of Nauyokas and his team, Staff Sgt. Selidin Spahiu, instructor for the KSF, said there is always room for improvement and noted his team will identify and eliminate any mistakes they made during the training.
"I believe our soldiers were very disciplined and communicated within the squads well," Spahiu added. "There's always room to improve, we will look at everything that we need to do better."
Eliminating their mistakes and working together coherently, effectively and efficiently is vital for Kosovo's efforts to achieve NATO interoperability and were characteristics displayed throughout the training.
"They [cadets] were very receptive to everything we had to say," said 1st Sgt. Robert Munion, senior enlisted advisor for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2/28 IBCT. "They want to learn from us and we want to learn from them."
Spahiu said the KSF and their cadets had a certain level of admiration for Munion and his Soldiers.
"The cadets have an extra motivation when working with [U.S. Soldiers]," said Spahiu. "Taking into consideration they are a military with so many years of experience, we have no doubts about working with the U.S. and we only wait for the day for more opportunities to work with them."
Spahiu and his team will get their wish as Munion and his team plan to continue strengthening the building blocks of their alliance throughout the unit's nine-month deployment.
Munion, an Army veteran of 31 years with three deployments, hopes that during their partnership the KSF can even teach him a thing or two.
"I would like to learn from them, how to shoot a little better," joked Munion. "They are pretty good shot."
Whether or not Munion improves his marksmanship, the future appears to be bright for the KSF and MNBG-E partnership.
"Considering the work we do and the motivation we have, I have no doubt we are ready for any mission," said Spahiu.
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