PRISTINA- After an interruption due to Covid19, the KFOR exercise "Silver Sabre" has restarted this week.
The NATO-led Kosovo Force has been conducting the annual exercise since 2012, with the aim of testing and training the cooperation of various institutions in Kosovo as well as the Kosovo Security Organizations together with KFOR units in the field of emergency response.
Until 2019, these exercises were planned and implemented under the leadership of KFOR, but for the year 2020, it was decided to train and coach the Institutions in Kosovo to enable them to plan their own large-scale emergency response exercise and to publicly display their capabilities.
‘Silver Sabre’ will again involve the Kosovo Security Council, the Emergency Management Agency, the Kosovo Police, the Red Cross Kosovo and the Kosovo Security Forces, which had already taken part to training modules that proved to be useful in terms of coordination to respond to the real emergency posed by Covid19.
The new phase of ‘Silver Sabre 2020-2021’ was restarted between 6 – 8 October at the Kosovo Academy for Public Safety Academy in Vushtrri, in parallel with the handover of responsibilities from the outgoing Deputy Commander of KFOR, Brigadier General Laurent Michaud of the Swiss Army who directed the exercise so far, to his successor Brigadier General Guenter Schoepf of the Austrian Army. Focus of the new phase was on refreshing of the previous training and on two most important concepts: the Lessons Learned Process and joint institutional Communication to promote capabilities and cooperation of the Institutions in Kosovo and the Kosovo Security Organizations.
The next phase will include four Main Events having a Pandemic as a parallel theme and will take place in the next months. A Rehearsal of Concept is scheduled in the first half year of 2021 and will be followed by the preparations at tactical level of all participants in view of the exercise planned for September 2021.
‘Silver Sabre 2020-2021’ will be concluded by a Final Exercise Report, which will collect all experiences in order to improve each organization’s procedures and structures and also to bring the development of the National Response Plan a step forward.