CAMP VRELO, Kosovo -- It's the Super Bowl and World Cup of crowd riot control events and it's what Kosovo Force has been training for over the past several months. It's Silver Saber and the three-day event was held May 14-16 at Camp Vrelo in central Kosovo.
The training event tested the abilities of Kosovo Police, European Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, and KFOR troops on their ability to coordinate, react and execute a large-scale multinational movement for a simulated CRC event.
The main muscle movement behind the event was also being able to synchronize all of the different forces and work like a well-oiled machine, said Italian army Maj. Gen. Salvatore Farina, Kosovo Force commander.
"Operating as crowd riot control was made possible and successful because the companies, units and commanders were working together," said Farina. "This is a very difficult activity and the coordination between KP, EULEX, and KFOR and also within the KFOR units is paramount."
The first day of Silver Saber exercise was conducted in classrooms, where troops went over strategic plans on how to best tackle the CRC situation. The second training day allowed troops to go through various lanes of CRC exercises to practice techniques used to contest civil unrest, and the third day was the compilation of those entire tasks put together.
U.S. Army Capt. Daniel Stevens, C Company commander for 2nd Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment, agrees the coordination between the different multinationals was valuable to the training for everyone who participated.
"Everyone has their own tactics, procedures and their own language, so every time we can get together and do joint operations it bridges the gaps we have as different countries and strengthens the KFOR alliance," said Stevens.
Stevens also pointed out that it is important for troops to stay proficient in CRC tasks and to keep practicing the tactics that come along with it.
"It's critical to do this training to maintain a high state of readiness in the event that we are required by [the Commander of Kosovo Force] to support the mission of KFOR as responders," said Stevens.
Silver Saber brought a mixture of challenges to the responding security forces, such as Molotov cocktails, large manmade roadblocks and even rioters with chainsaws but that didn't deter the troops, it only benefited them.
"The resources thrown into this [exercise] really gives the Soldiers an extensive look by making it as realistic as possible," said Stevens. "It's the full gambit of threats we could face in a CRC environment."
Harboring communication between the different elements and working together to overcome obstacles, each of the security forces were able to practice movement techniques against the opposing rioters. It's a technique that would be used if one responding element couldn't handle the situation and needed help.
"We practiced CRC techniques and procedures as a whole," said Slovenian army 2nd Lt. Blaz Marolt, a platoon leader for the Slovenian contingent. "What we were doing was to see if we could coordinate and function together."
Troops in Kosovo are prepared to handle situations that disrupt freedom of movement for KFOR forces and Institutions in Kosovo, and the training was a way to show how KP, EULEX and KFOR could handle the situation at hand, Blaz added.
In the end, all of the gears of the machine came together to successfully restore freedom of movement and subdue the rioters -- the end goal of the Silver Saber exercise.
"It was definitely a tough fight [in Silver Saber] with the competitors but the soldiers maintained their composure and were able to meet their end state," said Stevens. "I'm very happy about how they did."
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