Kosovo: the RC-W leads the "Swift Lynx II"

(To Greater Defense)
16/11/19

The "Swift Lynx II" exercise, conducted by the kinetic units of the Regional Command West (RC-W) and the Kosovo Tactical Reserve Battalion (KTRBN), took place from 12 to 14 November last, as part of the Kosovo mission. tactical reserve deployed in Kosovo by NATO.

The training activity is framed by the Orthodox Christian monastery of Visoki Decane, a symbol of the Orthodox Christian religion, declared a UNESCO heritage site since 2004, for whose safety KFOR remains primarily responsible.

The purpose of the activity is to train the units that make up the multinational contingents, to manage critical events, to maintain a high operational capacity and to increase the level of interoperability between the various structures employed.

For the conduct of the "Swift Lynx II" a scenario of "popular mobilization" was simulated, during which the forces exerted had to face a real escalation of disorders, implementing the security measures provided for the occurrence of such events.

The conduct of the exercise was divided into three phases. In the first phase, the RC-W units operating on the ground were deployed, in order to increase the security of the Visoki Dacane monastery; in the second phase, units of the tactical reserve were deployed, in support of the forces already operating on the ground; in the third and last phase a specific unit called Freedom of Movement - Detachment (FOM-D), made up of engineering, logistics and health structures.

In this context, the task assigned to the FOM-D was to support the maneuvering of the units used in crowd control. The latter, in fact, blocked by barricades erected "ad hoc" to simulate the training scenario, were forced to request the intervention of the aforementioned FOM-D structure which, in a first phase, through the use of an IED structure (Imprivised Explosive Device), has carried out the reclamation of the barricades from the presence of explosive devices placed inside them, removed at a later time by the intervention of a tracked vehicle of the Engineers.

The exercise involved 300 KFOR soldiers of various nationalities: US, Austrian, Italian, Moldovan, Hungarian, Slovenian and Croatian; 32 rotated vehicles, a dozer tank, two multi-role helicopters, medical assets, as well as military police units and local police forces.

During the phases of the "Swift Lynx II" the rapidity of input of the forces in the area affected by the activity was evaluated, the integration of the tactical reserve in the RC-W maneuver device and the Command and Control function ( C2) exercised by commanders on the ground.

In this context, the exercise allowed to provide a rapid and effective response to the occurrence of actions that could threaten stability, security and freedom of movement in the area of ​​operations.