Pristina, Kosovo. KFOR manoeuvre units planned and conducted a joint exercise with personnel from European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) and Kosovo Security Organization (KSO), including Kosovo Police (KP) and Kosovo Security Force (KSF).
In this 2016 first edition, the "Silver Sabre” exercise was based mostly on handling civil disturbance and migration scenario in Kosovo.
The activities were conducted at different geographic locations in order to simulate various operational scenarios. In Camp "Pomazatin” and Camp "Vrelo” training areas, Kosovo Security Forces deployed a crisis response team to manage a supposed migration flow and set up a reception camp, in close coordination with Multinational Battle Group-East, for managing a potential migrations crisis situation. KSF were exercised in their capacity to handle civil protection situations in emergency conditions in conjunction with Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search and Rescue teams. These exercises allowed the KSF to enhance their capacity in fulfilling their specific tasks primarily related to domestic crisis response capability.
In Camp "Villaggio Italia”, KFOR troops and Kosovo Police elements intervened in a Crowd and Riot Control scenario caused by a violent demonstration in the vicinity of a religious site where KFOR acted as first responder. This carefully developed exercise scenario was based on an escalation of violence where the KFOR unit asked for reinforcement from KP in order to re-establish a safe and secure environment.
Training and exercises are routine military activities for KFOR troops. Annually, KFOR uses these types of exercise to train and improve the capabilities of its units based on intensive realistic scenarios.
The purpose of these periodic exercises is to enhance KFOR’s ability in maintaining the readiness of troops and honing their operational flexibility. The harmonization of techniques, tactics and procedures between the Kosovo Police (KP), the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), the Kosovo Security Force and KFOR was a fundamental objective of this exercise period.
KFOR exercises ensure interoperability with current, and potential partners, and for working out possible mission command issues including computer network and communications interoperability.
The liaison, communication and relief in place of the various responders was a crucial part of the exercise and the impromptu scenarios required enhanced collaboration between all responders particularly with regard to the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP).