KFOR SOLDIERS TAKE ON DEMANDING DANCON MARCH, SHOULDER TO SHOULDER

Camp Maréchal De Lattre De Tassigny, Kosovo. More than 900 KFOR multinational service members gathered at Camp Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, Kosovo, April 3, 2016, to put their mental and physical endurance to the test.

Members from NATO, Kosovo Force, Kosovo Police, and European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) trekked the uneven Kosovo countryside together during a challenging DANCON March.

The DANCON March is an event organized by Danish troops, representing all Danish forces, deployed in support of a NATO or UN mission. The purpose of the march is to raise funds for the Danish Veteran’s Organization. This organization supports Danish soldiers who have been injured while on international operations.

The level of difficulty varied for participants as the event offered two separate routes: a 25 km and a 40 km march. In addition to the distance, each hopeful had to carry at least 22 pounds (10kg) of gear, not including the weight of their normal combat uniform and the water necessary to survive the challenge.

For many soldiers deployed to Kosovo, the DANCON march served as a milestone and an opportunity to bond with their allied partners.

"We are deployed as an alliance and therefore we march in allegiance to each other, pushing to reach and find our limitations, aiding another if the need arises and to triumph together as we reach our goals,” said M.H. Klausen, fire team leader for the Danish contingent. "A marching soldier is older than the wheel and in this simple discipline we can strengthen ourselves as an individual and our bond as fellow brothers in arms.”

Over 900 participants completed the event and earned the coveted DANCON March medal.