After two months of high-tempo mobilization training, the Soldiers of KFOR 12, a multi-state task force of National Guard and Reserve Soldiers, have come together as one.
The nearly 1,400 Soldiers who make up the U.S. contingent, "Task Force Falcon," of Multi-National Task Force-East are ready to take responsibility from their KFOR 11 counterparts and work with their NATO colleagues to continue maintaining a safe and secure environment for the people in Kosovo. Combined, the U.S. and NATO troops form a team of more than 2,100 Soldiers.
For many, taking over the KFOR mission is the culmination of mission-specific training that started almost 18 months ago. That training, from home stations to Camp Atterbury, Ind., to Hohenfels, Germany, brought together units from 14 states and individual augmentees from nearly 40 states, molding them into a team. Many leaders felt it was the first challenge met successfully.
Col. Lannie Runck, MNTF-E chief of staff, said it was impressive how Soldiers from so many backgrounds came together quickly.
"The CG [commanding general] put out that when we were at home station, our main objective was to develop the team so that states were brought into the mix," Runck said. "We went out and visited them, welcomed them to the team. Even the folks who trained us back at Atterbury were rather amazed at how quickly we came together, communicated and synchronized our efforts. They were impressed with that."
MNTF-E is led by the 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade of the North Dakota Army National Guard. The task force also comprises Guard units from Arizona, California, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and the Virgin Islands. It also has a U.S. Army Hospital from Georgia made up of Reserve Soldiers from about 40 states.
The incoming Soldiers of MNTF-E held a transfer-of-authority ceremony with KFOR 11, primarily made up of the 40th Infantry Div., of the California National Guard, on November 14, at Camp Bondsteel.
Command Sgt. Maj. Jack Cripe, command sergeant major of MNTF-E, also of the North Dakota Army National Guard, from Dickinson, N.D., said Soldiers and units had combined as a task force without many problems.
"I think it went very well, pulling 1,400 Soldiers from nearly 40 states and bringing all those personalities together, the different leadership styles into one team," he said.
After the team came together as one, however, it was time to face the next challenge: making sure everyone knew their roles, to ensure the peace support mission in Kosovo would be nothing short of a success. That involved not only creating clear channels of communications, but also empowering younger leaders to make on-the-spot decisions. Whether the Soldiers were from the Liaison Monitoring Teams, Military Police, Medical, or Maneuver Task Forces, they would all be mentored to succeed.
"Our major muscle units — our maneuver units, the LMTS, the MPs, the MED personnel, the Bradley guys — by going to their states and meeting with them, it set the playing field really even," Cripe said. "That made it not a 'we, them' concept, but instead made it a team concept."
Runck, a North Dakota National Guard Soldier from Grand Forks, N.D., said the mobilization process provided some lessons learned, which allowed communications between sections and units to grow and thrive.
"At home station we conducted a couple of CPXs [Command Practice Exercises] as a staff, but you're rather limited in your ability to conduct a staff exercise to the magnitude that we've done at Atterbury or Hohenfels," Runck said. "At Atterbury it gets ramped up a notch, you've got all the force multipliers engaged, you've got injects from higher headquarters, things going on all around that you've got to react to.
"Time management becomes a real focus," he continued. "Just working together with the staff personnel you have available at home station — we didn't have that at the CPXs until we got to Atterbury because they were from other states. It was the first time we had really all come together as a brigade-level task force. Coming here now, that's all been ramped up a notch higher. Things are coming faster, reaction times are shorter so it's more intense each step of the way."
Due to the "street-level" operations of many units, the mobilization process also helped further develop confidence in junior leaders — many of whom will be interacting with the people of Kosovo on a day-to-day basis. If residents are facing issues, it will be sergeants and staff sergeants who they go to for assistance. Because units were training at the squad level, Cripe thinks they will be ready to meet the challenge, and mentorship would be provided along the way.
"They're put in a position where they don't have time to use a cell phone or radio to call back for guidance," he said. "They have to make a decision on the spot. They need to be empowered. We need to trust the thought process that goes into their decision making."
Maj. Maury Millican, Bismarck, N.D. chaplain, an N.D. Guardsman and brigade chaplain for MNTF-E, said support for troops at all levels was established — both from home and within the organization.
"We have a lot of seasoned veterans in our force," Millican said. "We have folks who have been to Kosovo before. We have folks who have been on combat deployments. We have a great mix of experienced leaders who bring that experience to their Soldiers to give them guidance and mentor them, especially when they're discouraged, when they're missing family and friends and life back in the states."
Millican said that overall, morale was good throughout the task force, although normal blues, disappointments and frustrations could be found on any deployment.
"For some folks it's their first time away from home," he said. "It's their first time leaving the United States. There's the stress of high-op-tempo training. There's the stress of cold weather — dealing with snow, ice and weather changes."
He continued, saying that despite the obstacles, Soldiers were "rising above, stepping up to embrace the challenge and training opportunities in the hope and anticipation of the day we finally get boots on the ground in Kosovo and get to do our job."
Cripe also acknowledged the positive attitude of the troops, which he said was generally maintained through what he referred to as "three weeks of the worst day in Kosovo," during training at Hohenfels.
"I think, overall, the discipline, the moral of the Soldiers — having put them through what we put them through — we couldn't ask for any better," he said.
Those disciplined outlooks came in handy at Hohenfels, where Cripe said the unknown — not knowing much about Hohenfels or how the observer/controllers worked was like a curveball. The leadership soon took control of that and got everyone back on the right track.
Runck said those challenges could end up being beneficial to the whole of MNTF-E.
"I don't think Kosovo will be quite the operational tempo that we had at Hohenfels," he said. "Obviously, they try and throw everything that we could expect to see in Kosovo at us. So you're trying to push nine month's worth of events into three weeks. You're never going to get to it all, but it forces you to think through it, so if and when we do see it for real, that we can say to ourselves: 'what do we do, how do we react, what're the processes we use to work through this.'"
Now, having learned lessons during mobilization training and built up a strong team mentality — all while inspiring confidence in junior leaders — Soldiers are finding other advantages waiting for them around Kosovo.
"They've also got the benefit that most of the interpreters have been here for several rotations — they know the area and the spheres of influence in those areas," Cripe said.
In addition to those benefits, KFOR 12 has the advantage of coming into a trusting environment. Although new friendships and trust must be earned, the Soldiers of KFOR 12 MNTF-E have already begun working with people who are very receptive to their mission.
"The confidence level grows every day," Runck said, adding that it might not have been obvious due to how intense the training had been. "But you can see the knowledge, experience and education that they are getting by the results they are producing."
Cripe added that, "After all the pre-mob and mob training, the Soldiers are saying 'It's our turn now.'"
"When we stay focused on our mission and get it done, we not only contribute to global peace and specifically peace here in Kosovo," Millican said, "but we get closer to the day we get to wrap up our mission and go back home.
Brig. Gen. Alan S. Dohrmann, commanding general of MNTF-E, said the way the Soldiers came together as a team so efficiently was a testament to the strength of today's Guardsmen and Reservists.
"Seeing firsthand how well our Soldiers operated during mobilization training at Camp Atterbury and Hohenfels demonstrates confidence and motivation," Dohrmann said. "The knowledge and experience exhibited by the U.S. Soldiers, as well as their NATO counterparts in Task Force Hellas and Task Force POLUKR, will undoubtedly ensure a bright future for the people in Kosovo."
| Date Taken: | 11.09.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 11.09.2009 05:14 |
| Story ID: | 41294 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 996 |
| Downloads: | 725 |
This work, KFOR 12 Takes Over Peace Support Mission in Kosovo, by Chris Erickson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
