The exercise, called "Western Storm", was organized by the Italian-led Regional Command West on the 5th ground artillery regiment (rocket launcher) “Superga”, and took place at the Gjakova / Djakovica airport.
The activity involved realistic simulations of crowd control and evacuation of military personnel, and was conducted by military personnel from Italy, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Moldova, Slovenia and Turkey.
More than 200 soldiers from the mission in Kosovo, with 50 vehicles and 2 multi-role helicopters, participated in the exercise aimed at testing the management of emergency situations and the command and control and communication procedures between the units.
The units of the KFOR Regional Commands, the tactical reserve battalion and the carabinieri of the Multinational Specialized Unit.
Four phases of the exercise: aerial surveillance, construction of cordons and observation points, insertion of airborne troops and evacuation of personnel in a riot context.
The exercise was attended by Major General Michele Risi, commander of KFOR, as well as representatives of the European mission EULEX and the Kosovo Police, together with Colonel Eric Riley and Colonel Gianluca Figus, who respectively lead the KFOR East and West regional commands .
In the security field, the KFOR mission acts as a third responder after the Kosovo police and EULEX and regularly conducts exercises with all its units to maintain a high level of readiness, with a view to contributing to the safety and freedom of movement of all citizens. Kosovo, according to the mandate of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244.
