Staff Sgt. Ciciley R. Littlewolf, Wahpeton, N.D.,
watches as Spc. John D. Kotaska, Grand Forks, N.D., inserts a nasopharyngeal airway (NPA) during an exercise at Camp Monteith, Kosovo. Sgt Chris J.
Coombs, Moorhead, Minn., was deemed a simulated casu...
CAMP MONTEITH, Kosovo - Soldiers of Multinational Battle Group East took
part in a large exercise May 27 that involved multiple situations and tested
the agility and adaptability of Kosovo Forces (KFOR).
American and Turkish Soldiers worked together at Camp Monteith to provide
security for a simulated meeting involving a government official. The
Soldiers also provided inner and outer security to protect a Property with
Designated Special Status (PrDSS), an area or institution under special KFOR
protection.
According to 1st Lt. Jarrod Simek, Dickinson, N.D., the executive officer of
MNBG E's Bravo Company, this was the second time Bravo's Soldiers have
protected a PrDSS during training missions in Kosovo. He said their skills
have improved because of what they learned on these exercises.
The event also tested the ability of MNBG E Soldiers to control a riot,
provide medical treatment, and react to unexploded ordinance (UXO). The
Battle Group command staff coordinated and directed the maneuver of American
and Turkish forces, as well as MNBG E's aviation assets and the explosive
ordnance disposal unit as they all responded to the challenges of the
exercise.
"In a training exercise such as this, you are going to get exposed to UXOs,
casualties, and a wide range of other things that could potentially occur in
reality," Simek said. "This is an all encompassing test and I think we
passed with flying colors."
Soldiers in the MNBG E area of operations, outside of Camp Monteith, also
took part in the exercise. Lt. Col. Jerry M. Anderson, Bismarck, N.D., the
deputy chief of operations for MNBG E, said Ukraine Soldiers supported
operations on the Administrative Boundary Line with Serbia, Polish Soldiers
vigilantly monitored the border with the Former Yugoslavian Republic of
Macedonia, and Greek Soldiers provided a Quick Reaction Force capable of
responding across Kosovo.
KFOR's Portuguese Soldiers played the role of mock "rioters" who provided
resistance to both the Turkish and U.S. Soldiers' defenses at Camp Monteith.
Tasked with the role of outer security, the Turkish Soldiers under the
command of Capt. (OF-2) Ali Dunder, were the first to meet the opposition
outside a concertina wire fence built by U.S. Soldiers.
"We learned from prior exercises that you cannot protect an open area with
just a CRC capable force, so we set up concertina wire and now we only have
two entrances to protect," said Capt. Jason Peterson, Grand Forks, N.D.,
commander of Bravo Company.
A medical evacuation of a simulated injured Soldier took place during the
mock riot, and the medics on the ground and the air medical evacuation team
were quick to respond. In less than 40 minutes the Soldier was headed back
to the Camp Bondsteel hospital.
The U.S. Soldiers took over the outer defense from the Turkish
Soldiers and gained more experience in quelling violence and helping enforce
security.
"It gives our young Soldiers a real idea of what we could expect if we come
upon a real riot," said Sgt Ashley N. Timian, Fargo, N.D., an acting squad
leader for 2nd Platoon, 3rd Squad, Bravo Company. "It lets us know where our
weaknesses are, so we can make ourselves stronger - it helps us keep our
strengths - and identify the things we want to change."
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