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KFOR’s Magazine December 2020 Joint Effects Cell CONTENT 3 COM KFOR Christmas Greeting 4 Joint Effects Cell 7 Key Leader Engagements 8 Christmas time in KFOR Centre Page Pullout: 10 the Chronicle 2021 Wall Calendar 18 Who Let the Dogs Out? 20 Snapshots 22 Chaplain‘s Message & In Retrospect , 23 CSM s Corner Commander KFOR XXV Photographer: Contribute to the Chronicle! Major General Davide Lauretti Franco Federici, OR-6 Italian Army Just send your photos to: Italian Army [email protected] Cover Photo: Chief Public Affairs Office & Luciano Savilli by the 20th of the month explaining where you COMKFOR Spokesperson OR-4 Italian Army took the photo and what equipment you used. Col. Mario Renna, We will then select one of the submitted images Italian Army E-mail and Web [email protected] and publish it in the next edition of the Chronicle. Chief Internal Information & http://jfcnaples.nato.int/kfor A the Chronicle T-Shirt is awarded each month Editor the Chronicle, Comdt. Paul O Callaghan Printed by “Blendi” to the winning photographer. You will be Irish Defence Forces Tel.: 044 149 115 immortalised in the Chronicle! [email protected] Is that not something to be proud of? Design & Layout Sincerely, Mr. Afrim Hajrullahu The Chronicle Team. NATO Nations within KFOR Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States. Non-NATO Nations Armenia, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Moldova, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine. The Chronicle is produced and fully funded by HQ KFOR. It is published for KFOR soldiers and civilians in the area of responsibility. The contents are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the coalition governments’ defence departments. Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the Internal Information Section of HQ KFOR’s Public Affairs Office (PAO) in Pristina, Kosovo. PAO HQ KFOR reserves the right to edit content to conform to style and space requirements. Articles are run on a space-available basis. Articles appearing in the Chronicle may be duplicated in official NATO publications subject to KFOR PAO authorisation. 2 I would like to take this opportunity to offer all of you a special greeting this holiday season. KFOR is made up of 27 member nations, of various religions, creeds and none. This multicultural and multi-ethnic community brings great colour and pageantry to this time of year. We all celebrate this season in different ways and one of the benefits of such a diverse community is sampling the traditions of our friends and colleagues. This year has been a particularly challenging period for all of us. We have endured lockdowns and restrictions on freedoms that would have seemed impossible to imagine just one year ago. However, we are KFOR. We can and we will endure and persevere in order to remain mission focussed. We are a self-selecting group that have stepped forward and made personal sacrifices for the achievement of a safe and secure environment with freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo. We are in this together and as one we will progress. Throughout its 21 year history, KFOR has overcome a multitude of challenges, coming out stronger every time. We are battling an invisible enemy; unconventional threats require us to adopt unconventional measures. You have displayed a strong sense of resilience, commitment, dedication and loyalty. We can and we will come out stronger for this experience. 2020 has been challenging, we hope that 2021 will bring new opportunities and the resumption of normality to Kosovo, to our own lives and to our families back home. The recent developments with regards to vaccines mean that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but we must not lose our focus now. We must be as committed to controlling this virus now as we were throughout this pandemic. 3 STORY OF THE MONTH “A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed”- Joint Effects Cell 020 has not been an easy year. Yet more the foregoing municipalities to provide better 2than ever mankind needed to express their services to all the people in need. humanity and help each other out, because if In addition to the aid with medical equipment, there is one lesson we have learned from the other notable CIMIC activities were conducted COVID-19 pandemic it is that Together We Are as well. The number of the completed CIMIC Stronger. In this spirit, throughout the year, activities was simply too great for us to be able KFOR CIMIC activities have been conducted all to list each and everyone of them. However, over Kosovo, providing much needed aid for the most notable ones were the donation of Kosovo institutions, organisations, schools, and smart white boards and laptops for Kosovo- individuals regardless of their ethnicity. Serbian and Kosovo-Albanian schools in Strpce Naturally, once the COVID-19 pandemic broke Municipality, and also the construction of the out in Kosovo, during the first part of 2020 children’s playground in Caber village as well most CIMIC efforts and projects were focused as the renovation of the sports field in Plemetin. on aid to various health institutions in Kosovo Another school that benefitted from CIMIC with COVID-19 medical protection equipment projects was the Elementary and Junior High (gloves, masks, hand sanitisers, glasses and School “Kuvendi i Verrave të Llukës” in Decan plastic overall suits). As a result, hospitals, family Municipality. The latter received some 20 laptops medicine centres and other health institutions in and one document laminating machine for the Pristina, Strpce, Gracanica, Leposavic, Zerovnica, informatics laboratory and toys and learning Mitrovica South and North, Peja/Pec, and so materials for their preschool classroom. on, received these much-needed materials that Several organisations working with people with were intended to enable the health workers in disabilities were also among the beneficiaries 4 of CIMIC projects. One of them is “Autizmi” Association in Pristina that works with autistic children. This centre received equipment for physical therapy, namely a static bike, treadmill, elliptical running machine, etc. Another similar association for people with disabilities that was helped by CIMIC during 2020 was the HANDIKOS Association in Drenas Municipality. The later received three air condition systems that serve to both cool and heat the premises of this association. It is worth mentioning that this association provides services to 1250 people, 150 of which are children and 36 of them receive daily services at this association. On the other hand, office furniture, laptops and telephones were handed out to the Department Examples of some of the CIMIC projects undertaken by for Health and Social Protection JEC during 2020 included the donation of laptops, tablets, in Zvecan Municipality. The education materials and COVID-19 PPE. importance of this CIMIC project is clear when we take into consideration the fact that this department looks after the most vulnerable population in this area. Among other activities contributing to the benefit of the civilian population, KFOR JEC has developed a still ongoing campaign against the COVID-19 pandemics which is very well received by the people of Kosovo. Radio K4 and PSYOPS print media have produced different products suitable for educating on preventive measures, warning against the risks and promoting the IiK and their anti- COVID-19 measures. As part of these efforts among the most notable projects was #stayhome, #wearthemask, #keepthedistance, #washyourhands and an anti- COVID-19 campaign with local “I am very proud of the work done by the KFOR celebrities. JEC. They are the true embodiment of the KFOR The last but certainly not the Spirit” least important project that was MG Federici, COM KFOR conducted by KFOR PSYOPS during 2020 is the Essay Prize Competition “Let’s think about 5 friendship!”. Almost 200 children of all For KFOR JEC, 2020 was a very challenging ethnicities living in Kosovo participated in year but all the personnel, military and this competition with their original essays civilian, have put in their best effort in order and competed for the chance of winning to provide help, support and assistance to one of the six tablets that were handed all people of Kosovo. out as prizes to the six best essays in this competition. In addition, all the essays Csaba Hernaczki that met the competition criteria will be OR-9, HUN-A published as a book. Joint Effects Cell 6 KFOR NEWS Key Leader Engagements ey Leader Engagements are critical to the continued success of KFOR. To meet the demands of maintaining Kpeace and security in Kosovo, civilian and military actors need to work together. Without the support of the local population, KFOR cannot succeed, and without KFOR, Kosovo risks losing its continued peace and stability. The continued cooperation of the civilian populations are mission critical. KLEs enable KFOR to shape a peaceful Kosovo by influencing through negotiation and mutual understanding. COM KFOR, MG Federici, meets with high level dignitaries, politicians and community representatives of a frequent basis. It is through these KLEs that COM KFOR is able to address any pertinent security issues, maintain critical situational awareness and relay KFOR’s continued commitment to UNSCR 1244 of 1999. At regional levels, commanders meet key leaders in the local communities to address the specifics of challenges in their local spheres. These meetings allow for direct lines of communication between the local institutions and communities with KFOR and visa versa and are mission essential. MG Federici met acting President, Ms. Vjosa Osmani. The meeting was focused on ensuring that COM KFOR and Ms. Osmani have open lines of communication and a mutual understanding of the other’s commitment to peace and security in Kosovo including on how to address the challenges of COVID-19 on all communities within Kosovo.