By Sgt. Sheila Swantek
111th Public Affairs Detachment
KOSOVO - Carl W. Buechner once wrote, "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel."
Sgt. 1st Class Ken Kelly, non-commissioned officer in charge of Liaison Monitoring Team 1 from southern Minnesota, summarized the overall job of an LMT with that famous quote. The LMT concept was developed in 2004 as a way to help accomplish the overall mission of Kosovo forces to maintain a safe and secure environment for all people of Kosovo.
"We spend the majority of our days sensing the people's perceptions and listening to what they think will keep their villages safe," said Kelly.
Within Multi-National Task Force - East there are eight liaison monitoring teams covering the eight municipalities in the sector.
"We have teams out monitoring every single day of the week," said Kelly. "The more they see us, the more trust they have in KFOR."
Kelly said that when the KFOR 9 LMT's took over in November 2007 they had a lot of ground to cover.
"The people in the villages have had a lot of empty promises and have seen several rotations come through their villages saying the same things," said Kelly.
He said that when they arrived everyone was really motivated to make changes to the existing LMT program and work hard to make an impact in the communities; and their hard work has paid off.
"They trust us because we are visible and we show we care about their needs," said Kelly.
With an overall different approach on providing a safe and secure environment than the infantrymen, Pfc. Danny Dion also from southern Minnesota and a team member of LMT-1, added how important it is for them to be visible to the people in the communities.
"We are out in our area of responsibility creating a safe and secure environment with our presence alone," said Dion. "They often see us as their own personal security because we are out there so much."
While in the villages, everything the LMT's monitor is linked to a report that the maneuver units read, enabling them to work together closely to ensure the people of Kosovo are safe.
"If we are not out interacting with the citizens of the villages then they can't tell us what their concerns are or what we are doing right," said Dion.
He added that as an LMT he rarely has to pry information from the citizens.
"That is why building relationships is a vital part of our role; when they trust us they tell us what is going on or what is about to happen in their villages," said Dion. "The information they give us allows us to be proactive in our response."
Both Kelly and Dion are part of LMT-1 which covers the Kamenica municipality. Kamenica is somewhat rare in that all three ethnic groups make up the nearly 63,000 citizens in the municipality; 82 percent are Kosovo Albanian, 17 percent are Kosovo Serbian, and 1 percent Roma.
Kelly said that in all the villages they visit, interacting with Albanian, Serbian, and Roma's, they try and help them understand that KFOR is not here to take sides.
"That's why relationships are so important, because if they trust you then they more than likely will trust your words," said Kelly.
While out sensing, Kelly added that they are given the chance to get to know the people of Kosovo and their needs.
"They come here often and I am pleased with the job they do," said Zivorad Andrejevic, a Serbian shop owner from the Tomance village.
Several weeks following Kosovo's declaration of independence, Kelly said they really have not seen much of a change in the people or their reactions towards KFOR.
Dobrivoje Simic, a retired Serbian from the Malo Ropotovo village, echoed the same sentiment.
"Things have not changed since independence was declared, this is still the same Kosovo and there is no reason to attack each other over anything," said Simic.
While visiting the Simic family, Kelly and Dion were able to give the children in their family some clothing they have needed for a long time.
"We are so grateful for all that the American Soldiers do," said Simic. "They are always here and we find that comforting."
Kelly said that through helping the people of Kosovo, his Soldiers have been able to learn some valuable lessons of which they are thankful for.
He said that one of the most valuable things he learned is that, "It doesn't matter where you are from it's what's on the inside that counts."
Dion agreed adding that this experience has been a learning process for him as well, "They taught me how to listen. And when you are open to listening, really listening, you develop compassion. For that I am truly grateful."
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