Edition #86, Jan. - Mar. 2014 INSIDE: Change of Command in the Multinational Battalion in BiH Training Branch Visit to Combined Training EUFOR Chief of Staff Gender in the Defence Handover-Takeover Ceremony Sector of BiH Main Planning Conferences for Forthcoming Exercises

Operation Commander Farewell Parade COM EUFOR

Soldiers of EUFOR ALTHEA, and the double use of Comrades, armed forces for the As we all know, in early Feb- benefit of civil affairs, ruary legitimate demonstrations, as well as military af- that began peacefully, suddenly fairs, is the most eco- became, in some instances, vio- nomical way of doing lent. BiH took centre stage in the this. The double use of eyes of the world again as we saw forces includes the use pictures and video footage of large of armed forces and protests and burning buildings. their assets for other Nothing like this had been seen in crisis tasks, such as air this country for over 15 years. medical evacuation, emergency engineering capabili- ties, disaster relief efforts, etc. While these protests, based on social and econom- ic dissatisfaction, were not a substantial threat to the This period has also seen us reach the end of Gen- safe and secure environment (SASE) of BiH, they are eral Sir ’s tenure as Operation AL- definitely a sign that security and stability does not THEA’s Operation Commander. During this tenure, simply occur naturally and without effort. As in any General Shirreff has pushed forward with the project other country and society in the world, this has to be to dispose of surplus arms, weapons and explosives created by the citizens, their elected representatives but his main effort was also in the development of our and their institutions. capacity building and training for the Armed Forces of BiH. I would like to take this opportunity to thank The European Union has undertaken big efforts to General Shirreff for his support and guidance to me support the development of BiH towards Euro-Atlan- personally and to Op ALTHEA and wish him all the tic integration through many initiatives and continues very best for his and his family’s future. to do so. EUFOR, as part of the European Union’s comprehensive approach to BiH, also supports these Soldiers! efforts. Our main work, the capacity building and Last, but by no means least, I want to gratefully training program, not only creates the chance for the thank all of you for your professional and engaged Armed Forces of BiH to contribute to international contribution to the successful steps that we have crisis management but also provides other benefits made. We have seen that the situation can change at for the people. One example of this is the de-mining any time, so let us be attentive and develop our capa- capability of the Armed Forces of BiH and with the bilities and competencies which will allow us to stay number of mines that are still present in this country, focused on our main effort to support the development this is obviously essential. Another area in which we of the Armed Forces of BiH. have seen progress is the Armed Forces dealing with Yours, the surplus of ammunition and weapons, which again, is obviously essential for the security of BiH. Smaller Major General Dieter Heidecker, COM EUFOR countries need to be economical in whatever they do 2 Dear Readers! CONTENTS Welcome to the first edition of EUFOR Chief of Staff the FORUM Magazine in 2014 - a new FORUM and some new Handover Takeover Ceremony 6-7 EDITORIAL faces. Therefore I want to take the Gender in the defence sector of opportunity to introduce the two latest BiH 11 members to our team! In Mission Every Day – The Invisi- I am the new Chief of the Public bles 13 Affairs Office, Lieutenant Colonel Who is Dobra? 17 Alexander Pehr, and we have also been joined by Captain Nicolai Tschol as the new Public Affairs Officer and Lieutenant Colonel Analyst and we are both from Austria. Alexander Pehr, Chief PAO Those of you that have already been in theatre for a few months might find this edition slightly different to previous ones. We tried to include stories and information that may be interesting for you. And we want to draw your attention to our new social media links as we had to make some changes, as some of our links were outdated. We hope you enjoy the magazine and we are happy with any comment on it. Captain Nicolai Tschol Operation Commander Farewell Parade EUFOR FORUM www.euforbih.org

Commander EUFOR Submissions can be made via All copies must be submitted to: Major General Dieter Heidecker e-mail to [email protected] EUFOR Forum Press Office The EUFOR Forum is produced by Building 200, Butmir Camp EUFOR Public Affairs Chief Sarajevo Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Pehr HQ EUFOR. It is fully funded by EUFOR, and authorised and pub- Digitised photographs should be

EUFOR Forum Staff: lished for the EUFOR forces in the submitted in JPG format with a Spokeperson: area of responsibility. minimum resolution of 200 dpi. Lieutenant Commander Jim Love The EUFOR Forum welcomes The EUFOR Forum does not Layout: submissions. For deadline normally return materials and will Mr. Jasmin Zeherovi information phone the editor on assume no liability for material Photographs contributed by: Warrant Officer 1st Class +387 (0)33 495148, submitted. Herbert Pendl Fax: 495221; The contents are not necessarily IPN 941-5148, Fax 941-5221 the official views of, or endorsed Printed in: Reprographics & Courier Service by, the coalition governments’ (HQ EUFOR) defence departments. 3 Operation Commander Farewell Parade EVENTS EUFOR

General Sir Richard Shirreff, General Sir and Major General Dieter Heidecker.

On the 18 February 2014, at from all sides in the country. arms, weapons and explosives, EUFOR Camp Butmir, Sarajevo, Major General Heidecker said but his main effort was in the de- a Farewell Parade was held for the thankfully: “During his time as velopment of capacity building ‘4 star’ EUFOR Althea Operation Operation Commander, General and training for the Armed Forces Commander, General Sir Richard Shirreff has pushed forward with of BiH.” Shirreff. Attendees included the the project to dispose of surplus Progress is needed incoming Operation Commander, General Sir Adrian Bradshaw On BiH, General and the Commander of EUFOR, Shirreff said: “I remain Major General Dieter Heidecker. deeply disappointed that we are not seeing po- Major General Heidecker litical progress in BiH thanked General Shirreff – Croatia is a full EU General Shirreff has held the member and, despite role of NATO Deputy Supreme their differences, even Allied Commander Europe since Serbia and Kosovo are March 2011 and is therefore determined to join the the EUFOR Althea Operation EU. In many ways, BiH Commander. He has regularly Major General Heidecker presents General is going backwards as Shirreff with a leaving gift. visited BiH to meet politicians the recent demonstra- Photos by OR-9 Herbert Pendl 4 tions have shown. These riots should be a ‘wake-up call’ for BiH politicians and foreign missions in BiH will only EVENTS end when a political solution is reached which is acceptable to all parties and EUFOR does not threaten the stability of the country and the region. EUFOR, the EUSR, NATO and others in the Interna- tional Community will continue to as- sist towards Euro-Atlantic integration.”

Some Positives He added: “We are however beginning to see some progress with the disposal of General Sir Adrian Bradshaw joined the 14th/20th King’s surplus ammunition, weapons and ex- Hussars in 1980 after gaining a BSc in Agriculture at Reading plosives under the energetic leadership University. He has since gained Master’s degrees in Defence of Defence Minister Osmić and Major Studies and International Relations from King’s College Lon- don. He served as a tank troop leader, Intelligence Officer and General Jelić and it has been positive later, helicopter pilot, in Germany, as well as conducting flying to see Bosnian and Herzegovinian tours in and the Falklands. He then carried ‘Brothers and Sisters in Arms’, putting out further tours at troop and squadron command level serving aside their ethnic differences and oper- in Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, the Americas and ating in that most difficult and danger- the Balkans. From 1994-1996, he commanded the King’s Royal ous of theatres, Afghanistan. Hussars (KRH), first providing the enemy force at the UK Ar- On EUFOR and Major General moured Training Area in Alberta, Canada, and then on opera- Heidecker, General Shirreff stated: tions in . “Major General Heidecker is a sol- After command, he went on to the UK Higher Command and diers’ soldier and under his leadership, Staff Course, and served in Military Operations in the MOD. EUFOR has consistently demonstrated On promotion to Brigadier, he served with the 3rd (US) Army in professional excellence, such as with Kuwait, planning for Land operations in . He then became the LOT Houses, which recently pro- Deputy Commander of US Task Force West before Command- vided much needed situational aware- ing 7th Armoured Brigade in Iraq. After attending the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, he became a Component ness, and with the Capacity Building Director in the MoD and was promoted in post to Major General and Training for the Armed Forces of in Nov 07. In Mar 09, he took command of 1st (UK) Armoured BiH.” Division based in Germany, training brigades for operations in New Operation Commander Afghanistan. Since relinquishing command, he has attended the US Army Strategic Leadership Programme (Advanced), the US General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, who Joint Pinnacle Course and has been a Visiting Defence Fellow at has previously served in BiH, will take Balliol College, Oxford. He became DCOM ISAF in late 2011, over from General Sir Richard Shirreff was appointed Commander Land Forces in Jan 2013 and is to be as the NATO Deputy Supreme Allied appointed DSACEUR from Mar 2014. Commander Europe in March 2014 He is married to Sally and they have 3 children, Katy, Ben and will therefore be the new EUFOR and Freddy. Althea Operation Commander. 5 EUFOR Chief of Staff EVENTS Handover Takeover Ceremony EUFOR

Brigadier General József Szpisják, Major General Dieter Heidecker, Brigadier General András Szűcs.

On 25 Feb 14, the EUFOR Chief of Staff Han- and his team, from the Armed Forces, and the Law dover-Takeover Ceremony took place at Camp But- Enforcement Agencies of BiH: mir, Sarajevo, where Brigadier General József Szpis- “I am very honoured and proud to have met and ják handed over the EUFOR Chief of Staff Role to worked with you and AF BiH during my time here Brigadier General András Szűcs, both of whom serve – sometimes I felt like one of the 13 Generals here with the Hungarian Army. in BiH. Also, the Law Enforcement Agencies have Brigadier General Szpisják said that he would be sorry to leave BiH and that when he arrived a year ago, he found a mission tailored EUFOR HQ with motivated well trained officers, NCOs and civilians, serving under an excellent commander, Major Gen- eral Dieter Heidecker. Regarding NATO HQ Sarajevo, BG Szpisják said: “Supporting BiH and her Armed Forces were the mutual tasks of EUFOR and NATO and I thank NATO’s Brigadier General Hart and his team for their friendship too.”

BG Szpisják also thanked Major General Jeleć Outgoing Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Szpisják 6 Brigadier General András Szűcs joined the Hungarian Armed Forces in 1982 as a Second Lieu- tenant. He graduated from the Kossuth Lajos Military EVENTS School as an Intelligence Officer was appointed as a Long Range Recconaissance Patrol leader (LRRP) from 1982 to 1986. In 1986 he assumed the LRRP EUFOR company commander post for two years. Later on, from 1992 to 1996 he served as Ex- ecutive Officer within the LRRP batallion and took command over the batallion from 1997 to 2000. In November 2000 he was appointed as G2 Major General Dieter Heidecker, Brigadier General Chief within the Hungar- József Szpisják. Photos by OR-9 Herbert Pendl ian Army Headquarters. Brigadier General Szűcs was given command over provided vital support throughout our activities, the 5th Infantry Brigade especially for our Op Rehearsal exercises.” from April 2005 to Janu- Finally, BG Szpisják thanked the International ary 2007, whereafter he Community. He said: continued his career as commander of the Hungarian Operations Center. “The OHR, UNDP, EUSR, OSCE, ICITAP and the Defence Attaché corps are all contributing to In 2008 Brigadier General Szűcs was appointed as Deputy Chief of Staff Combat Support at the NATO the success of EUFOR.” Rapid Deployable Corps in Italy where he served The Commander of EUFOR (COM EUFOR), until July 2012. Since then he has been the Director Major General Dieter Heidecker thanked BG Sz- of J2 at the Hungarian Defence. Brigadier General pisják for his year of service with EUFOR and Szűcs attended the Military Adademy in Moscow af- said: ter completion of the Russian language course. He “I wish to thank you and your family for your graduated from the Hungarian Military Academy in sacrifice. You needed to overcome difficult issues, 1992. After passing the English language test in 1996 he participated in several PfP then NATO courses and such as the inevitable differences in languages, exercises. culture and operating methods, which can be a source of unnecessary friction. You demonstrated He graduated from the National War College in Washington D.C. in 2003 and had the honour to serve excellent leadership by your own personal exam- at the Multinational Corps Iraq Joint Operations Cen- ple and you have also been direct and uncompro- tre Baghdad from August 2004 to April 2005. Briga- mising when necessary to get the job done.” dier General Szűcs was decorated with the Order of BG Szpisják is to be replaced by BG Szűcs Knight (Military) and various service medals. who’s last appointment was as the Intelligence Di- He speaks Russian at advanced level and English rector at the Hungarian Defence Staff. BG Szűcs according to STANAG 3.3.3.3. Married to Maria, he is a graduate of the Frunze Military Academy in has two daughers, Szabina and Bettina. In his spare Moscow, the Hungarian Military Academy and the time he enjoys football and running. National War College in Washington DC and he has previously served in Baghdad, Iraq. 7 Change of Command in MNBN the Multinational Battalion in BiH

On February 24th, 2014, the flag of the Battalion, symbolizing ion consists of a mixed staff of command of the Multinational the power of command, from the Turkish, Hungarian and Austrian Battalion of EUFOR was handed outgoing commander Lieutenant soldiers and each, a Turkish and over in Camp Butmir in Sarajevo. Colonel Christopher Blasch to the Hungarian infantry company. If At the ceremony the commanding new commander, Lieutenant Col- required the battalion can be re- officer of EUFOR, Major General onel Harald Scharf. inforced by troops above the ho- Dieter Heidecker, transferred the The Multinational Battal- rizon. “My highlight was the Exercise Quick Response” In his farewell speech Lieuten- ant Colonel Blasch made a review of the exercise “Quick Response”, which was held in September last year and which was the main ef- fort during his command. He praised the high level of training of the troops and the good cooper- ation between international forces and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

8 Full Operational Capability of the MNBN Hungarian company

The Multinational Battalion of the EU- FOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) con- sists of a Turkish and a Hungarian infantry coy and a staff of Turkish, Hungarian and Austrian soldiers. On the 5th of March the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Harald Scharf inspected the mission-readi- ness of the Hungarian infantry coy, which has been in the theatre since January this year.

Lieutenant Colonel Scharf, new MNBN commander

“Only together we are strong and successful in a long term view” Lieutenant Colonel Scharf explained in his inaugural ad- dress the framework of the Multinational Battalion. There is a mutual understanding within the troop-contributing nations Turkey, Hungary and Austria; willingness to learn from each other, since no individual soldier and no military unit is perfect and, finally, courtesy and respect for the resi- dents and authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A wounded person is prepared for the air transport

A wide range of skills required During the inspection the Hungarians had to show diverse military capabilities accord- ing to NATO standard procedures. Among others, this included transport planning and execution, explosive ordnance disposal and first aid in cooperation with helicopters.

Professionalism stated Outcome of the inspection: The soldiers have a good physical and mental condition, the teams are highly motivated and cooper- ate extraordinarily. All tasks were fulfilled as expected. The Hungarian soldiers proved that they hold a high level of professionalism.

9 Remembrance of the Helicopter Crash of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Visit General De Rousiers to LOT Sarajevo

Civilans employed in HQ EUFOR Change of Command MNBN

HOTO COS EUFOR

Reception of HU Chief of Land Forces COS Visit to MNBN General Shirreff. H.E. Sørensen, General Bradshaw, Major General Heidecker Change of Command MNBN

HOTO COS EUFOR HQ Medal Parade

HQ staff Farewell Parade General Shirreff

Road Map Agreement Medal Parade BG Hart Main Planning Conferences for CB&T Forthcoming Exercises

With a series of conferences, held from 4th to 7th of February in Camp Butmir and at the Armed Forces of BiH (AF BiH) Military Base in Dubrave near Tuzla, EU- FOR and the AF BiH launched the detailed planning of forthcoming exercises that will be held in early June of this year.

5th Infantry Brigade will take the lead Whilst EUFOR conducts its annual exercise “Quick Response” to exercise its ‘over-the-horizon’ reinforcement troops, the chal- lenge and responsibilities for AF BiH are increasing this year, as the 5th Infantry Brigade of AF BiH, main efforts and thanks to the con- ing the Operational Commander under the command of Brigadier stant improvement of AF BiH, this of AF BiH, Brigadier General Dr. Kenan Dautović, will lead the exercise will show the capability Dragan Vuković, the EUFOR combined EUFOR and AF BiH of the 5th Brigade to cooperate Chief of Staff, Brigadier General training exercise. with foreign forces at battalion József Szpisják, said: level. Continuous “We at EUFOR are very development of skills With an audience of approxi- pleased with the results of all the mately one hundred national and hard work of AF BiH and EUFOR Capacity building and train- international staff officers includ- over the last few years. This exer- ing of AF BiH is one of EUFOR’s cise will show the improvements that have been made towards the future contributions of BiH to po- tential international crisis manage- ment operations.”

Participants from three different countries EUFOR will provide infantry companies from Slovenia, Austria and Great Britain to exercise with the 5th Infantry Brigade in this ex- ercise.

12 CB&T - Needs Assessment and CB&T Roadmap Agreement Meeting

Participants of EUFOR and NATO Photographer: OR-9 Herbert Pendl

On 6th March 2014 the Capacity Building and Training Needs Assessment and Roadmap Agree- ment meeting took place at Camp Butmir, with representatives of the Armed Forces BiH and Ca- pacity Building and Training as participants. The goal of this meeting was to assess the needs and gaps of the Armed Forces BiH in the field of train- ing, in order to elaborate a roadmap for 2015 and 2016. This roadmap is an important milestone which will allow a better interaction between Armed Forces BiH and EUFOR, as well as to im- prove the coordination and optimization of train- ings to be conducted during the aforementioned years. Signature of the Roadmap agreement by DCOS CB&T and a senior AF BiH representative The roadmap will optimize the interaction between AF BiH and EUFOR in as possible to plan capacity building needs/tasks as the field of training well as training needs/tasks for 2015-2016 with sup- The roadmap agreement meeting comes after the port from EUFOR and NATO Sa. Armed Forces BiH EUFOR Capacity Building and Training Assessment was also encouraged to take over more responsibility Conference, which was held at EUFOR HQ on 26-27 in training by themselves. This should mainly be done November 2013. The main goal of the conference was by using already trained Armed Forces BiH personnel to improve Capacity Building and Training activities and allowing EUFOR to mentor, monitor and assist and to coordinate the planning for 2015 with Armed its activities. Forces BiH Joint Staff, EU Staff Group and NATO The Training Assessment Conference is carried HQ Sa. Deputy Chief of Staff Capacity Building and out annually to evaluate the progress of training Training requested Armed Forces BiH to start as early activities.

13 Training Branch Visit to Combined Training CB&T A Series of combined train- ings started mid of February During the period from 17 to 21 of February one platoon from the Multinational Battalion/EU- FOR and one platoon from the 6th Infantry Brigade/AFBiH took part in the combined training in Ko- zara/Manjača. This training was the first training in a series of 9 planned for 2014. The main topic was Force Protection, in detail security on the main gate, action in attacking on main gate with sniper fire, procedures and rules of communication, procedures for requesting assistance and re- inforcement to the main gate and part of Euro-Atlantic alliances. It Combined Training procedures and rules of communi- also offers the soldiers from differ- The ultimate aim of EUFOR’s cation. ent ethnic backgrounds to effec- training assistance to the AF BiH tively work together in close teams Contribution to peace is to assist in achieving a robust and to integrate with other mod- support operations and self-sustainable training struc- ern Armed Forces. Soldiers from ture, with appropriate staffing Combined Training with the the AF BiH are approaching the mechanism, to allow the AF BiH Armed Forces of Bosnia and Her- level of professionalism required to provide capability-orientated zegovina provides a significant for successful Euro-Atlantic inte- and trained personnel in line with collective training benefit and gration and this is already being international standards, able to improves the capability of the AF shown by their active contribution participate in Peace Support Op- BiH to contribute to peace support to international peace and security erations (PSO). operations in overseas missions as in overseas missions. by Major Vladimir Dimitrov

14 In Mission Every Day – The Invisibles CB&T

18 Feb 20114, Camp DUBRAVE Capability the company. Captain said, “and than it is utmost im- Mesić introduced his company to portant to be prepared in case of They are nearly invisible, silent the guests and explained that the emergency in order to save own and continuous. Day by day the Coy is FOC with personnel and lives”. EOD companies and the Armed equipment. Exercise: How the teams get Forces beneath several NGOs Still huge areas of the country trained during emergency work under extremely difficult cir- are covered with mines cases cumstances in order to remove and clear the deadly During 2013 Therefore the EOD teams es- threat in Bosnia the coy achieved to tablished a standardised training and Herzegovina. clear approximate- including procedures how to deal ly 1 ,622 ,000 m² of in case of mine accidents during On the 18 Feb- mines. For 2014 it the work. The right behaviour dur- ruary 2014 one is foreseen to work ing a CASEVAC or MEDEVAC of the specialised in different regions has to be trained and drilled. companies (the with three pla- 2nd Coy of the De- The situation simulated a rou- toons. One placed mining Battalion) tine demining operation during in ORASJE, one presented that ca- which an explosion occurred - one in BIJELJINA and pacities and capa- soldier got wounded. Immediately one in DUBRAVE. bilities during an the platoon presented a highly The mission for inspection in DU- professional procedure in order to 2014 is to clear BRAVE Base close stabilize and evacuate the injured about 1,400,000m² by TUZLA. soldier from the danger zone. of the landscape. At first the The EOD teams stopped with “The rugged and mountainous Company Commander Captain their engagement, communicated terrain makes the daily work to a Mesić reported his company to the to each other - the information huge challenge”, Captain Mesić Commander of the Demining Bat- flow was perfect and allowed the explained. “Very often we work talion Colonel Zenunović who was platoon leader to coordinate the hidden beside main roads in the convinced of the “Full Operational CASEVAC in a calm and confident forests and covered terrain, he way.

15 Gender in the defence sector of BiH GENDER On 10th March 2014, EUFOR conducted a conference titled ‘Gender in the Defence Sector’ in Camp Butmir, Sarajevo. The aim of the conference, opened by EU- FOR Chief of Staff, Brigadier General András Szűcs, was to discuss experienc- es in gender issues. In 2012, the Armed Forces of BiH (AF BiH) started to appoint “Gender Focal Points”, and in 2013 they devel- oped and introduced the Stan- dard Operating Procedures (SOP) diers are treated in the same way, and gain a conceptual understand- throughout the AF BiH structure. regardless of their sex. ing of the issues involved. Gender Focal Points are persons in Gender for me is: “The right the AF BiH who advise command- Informative program and person in the right place” ers and others to assure that all sol- discussion The conference program pro- In an interview, the Command- vided information about the SOPs, er of EUFOR, Major General Di- the experiences of Gender Focal eter Heidecker, said, ”For me it Points in the AF BiH, the integra- is very important to have the right tion of Gender in peace support person in the right place to fulfill training and the importance of di- the required tasks. This focuses on versity in the defence sector. the capability of a person and not on the sex of that person. I cer- During the conference, the par- tainly can say, that EUFOR is an ticipants learned that Gender as a employer of equal treatment. I concept in the defence sector has also learned that Gender Advisors been advancing progressively. are very helpful in ensuring that EUFOR Gender Advisor Ms Nikolina There are still challenges ahead, issues specific to females are not Marčeta however, to increase awareness neglected.” A successful conference In his closing remarks, Briga- dier General Szűcs thanked the organizer of the conference, Ms Nikolina Marčeta, Gender Advi- sor of EUFOR, and expressed his appreciation to all the participants. “It would be unforgivable not to make full use of the resources of skills, experience and knowledge of both men and women”, he said. The audience of the conference. Photos by OR-9 Herbert Pendl

16 Dobra STORY Who is Dobra? This is the first thing that comes to mind with someone who has been in CHILFOR before or knows of the CHILFOR mission. To answer that question we must go back to the year 2002 when British soldiers were de- ployed to the town of Bosanska Gradiska in Bosnia and Herze- govina and lived in what were the first Platoon Houses. Dobra was their pet and they cared for her and gave her affection, and in return they got even more affection back the Chilean mission since 02 Dec a dog. In August 2012 she had a and this is good for the morale of 2004 to 31 OCT 2013. benign tumour removed from her the troops serving there. Dobra has been sent to all stomach but after this, she returned Her first contact with Chil- the cities that Chilean personnel to good health. ean troops was in February 2004, have been deployed to - Bosanska So, we can finally answer the when the personnel of CHILFOR Gradiska, Prnjavor, Prijedor and question we have all been asking, 1 met her for the first time when currently in the city of Banja Luka. what does “Dobra” mean? In the CHILFOR took over from Brit- But what about her tempera- local language “Dobra” means to ish soldiers, as we can see in the ment? She is a mixed breed dog, be good and that simple word rep- following picture showing OR – 6 or to be more specific, as stated in resents her and her affection and Manuel Linconir Gonzalez, now her medical passport, she is a “hy- devotion for the troops that she OR – 8. brid”. lives with. Later that year, the British She is very sociable, left the mission area, which be- loveable and kind to all who came the responsibility of Chilean live in the LOT House. She troops and Dobra was handed over is meek and has unparal- to CHILFOR to begin her career leled patience, considering with the Chilean Army in the city that every six months there of Prnjavor with CHILFOR 2. is a new rotation and she From that moment she was must bond with new mem- loved by all Chileans who met her bers, even some people who or knew her and that is when she do not like dogs. But she became known to the HQ in Sara- always knows how to win jevo. This happened due to many over people’s hearts and visits by the HQ officials to the minds. Chilean LOT House, which can be Today Dobra is not as seen with all the patches given to agile and fast as she was in her. her younger years as she is In fact, she was awarded the already 12 or 13 years old ALTHEA Medal for her service in and this is a very old age for 17 Gavrilo Princip – A Hero or Villain?

HISTORY I have a feeling that here in military and paramili- gate and make arrests on the Balkans, like nowhere else, tary service during the Serbian territory. After you can’t get a simple answer to a Balkan Wars, but he the rejection of this question - is it A or B? My expe- was rejected from request, war was rience tells me that in most cases, both because of declared and in the the answer is actually C. This can his small physical chain reaction that be applied to the question from our stature. It is very ensued, the largest title, who was Gavrilo Princip, the possible that this and most terrible man who started WWI? But then, was an extra reason war that the world we can ask another question - was why he felt that he had ever seen had be- it really him who started the war or needed to do something gun. he was just an excuse to start one? huge in order to prove his As Princip was under-age he As with many other cases, there is worth. could not be sentenced to death, no common agreement in evaluat- When he heard that the heir but was sentenced to 20 years in ing this historical figure. While he to the Austro-Hungarian throne, prison. He died on 28th of April is still celebrated as a hero, free- Archduke Franz Ferdinand was 1918 suffering from tuberculosis dom fighter and patriot among the coming to visit troops with his and his bones were transferred Serbian population, other nations wife, who was supposed to open from the prison graveyard Terezin see him as an extremist, assassin, a hospital in Sarajevo, that im- to Sarajevo in 1921. terrorist or murderer. Maybe he mediately made him a was only a tool, brainwashed and primary target in the plot used for some causes that his mind that was already ongoing could not possibly comprehend. against general Potiorek, Gavrilo was born on 25th of the military governor of July 1894 in the village of Obljaj Bosnia. Gavrilo was in near Bosansko Grahovo. He was the group of conspirators the son of a postman, raised in a sent from Serbia by Dra- large and poor family. Because of gutin Dimitrijević-Apis, poverty, his parents sent him to his the head of the Black brother in Sarajevo where he went Hand organization and Serbian The Chapel of the St Vitus Day to the Merchant School. Although military intelligence. After a series Heroes (Kapela Vidovdanskih he joined the pro-Serb organiza- of circumstantial events and the Heroja) was built in 1939 at the old tion “Young Bosnia”, he was be- failed first assassination attempt, Orthodox cemetery in Kosevo, and coming more open to the Yugoslav Princip managed to make a fatal the remains of the 11 members of project as he found that his Croa- shot at the Archduke and his wife, Young Bosnia were reburied here. tian friends shared his aspirations. who died within hours from their He even joined some violent pub- wounds. All of the plotters were ar- Princip’s status has varied with lic protests, held mostly by Croats, rested soon after the assassination time but disputes will never cease on the streets of Sarajevo in 1912. with Gavrilo among them. As the because there is no common agree- That year he moved to Belgrade investigation pointed towards Ser- ment when we talk about the histo- and made contact with the Black bian military intelligence, Vienna ry of this region. However, Gavrilo Hand organization, and continued used the opportunity to request Princip will certainly remain to be to work on the unification of BiH from Belgrade that Austro-Hun- one of the best known historical and Serbia. He applied for both garian investigators freely investi- figures who moved the world.

18 A state with only three urdays and Sundays; with very low wages, no insur- ance, no sick leave and no holidays. This is just some official holidays of the reasons that workers around the world were

WELFARE forced to fight for their rights and oppose capitalist In Bosnia and Herzegovina there is still no com- oppression. In the second half of the 19th century, mon law on holidays this situation only worsened, and the workers, recog- 1st and 2nd January, 1st and 2nd of May (Inter- nizing that the individual can not achieve anything, national Workers Days), and the 9th of May (Victory began to organize in groups of workers unions. over Fascism Day) are the only three holidays that Time for change ?! are celebrated across the country, in both entities. The BiH parliamentarians disagree on all other official 1st of May is a national holiday in more than 80 holidays. Neverthless, these three dates, on which countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. politicians can agree, can be considered as a success. It started initially as an attempt to celebrate the work- ers’ achievements in their struggle for their rights In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1st May is an official and for better social and economic conditions. In holiday at the national level. Most people celebrate most countries all around the world, celebrations are this holiday by visiting natural parks and resorts, and marked by demonstrations to which left-wing politi- in some places public events are organized too. cal parties, and workers’ unions participate. Celebration of the international labour However, in BiH, 1st May and 2nd May, the In- movement - How did it all begin? ternational Workers Day, are days off work and off 1st of May remembers the workers in the late 19th school. It is one of the major popular holidays, and century who fought for their rights against a capitalist the only official holiday from socialist times that is society, and some who even gave their lives for better still officially celebrated. People celebrate it all over working conditions for future generations. The work- the country regardless of their political views. By tra- ers, including women and children, were working in dition, 1st May is celebrated with friends and family extremely poor conditions; with very long working at traditional picnics and outdoor barbecues across hours of twelve or more hours a day; working on Sat- the country.

Morale and Welfare attractions, we have also visited the mountains where the Winter Olympics took place. HQ EUFOR Morale and Welfare Activities (MWA) All the trips and tours are published on the ‘MWA is devoted to ensuring the well being of Camp But- Events’ section of the EUFOR/NATO homepage and mir’s community of Military and Civilians from over recent examples include a Saturday visit to Mostar 20 countries. MWA provides an assortment of func- and Počitelj and a visit to the Bosnian National The- tions and activities to increase the morale and welfare atre in Sarajevo for a concert with the Sarajevo Phil- for NATO and EUFOR military personnel assigned to harmonic Orchestra. Camp Butmir. MWA Office organises different programs inside and outside of Camp Butmir. Outside activities are not limited only to various historical and cultural trips and tours, but also include occasional visits to the Na- tional Theatre, football matches or concerts. The first MWA trips were organized as ear- ly as the year 2000, and were only in Bosnia and Herzegovina but more recently we have also visited Croatia. Apart from visiting tourist

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