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***image1***While headlines grab stories from Afghanistan and Iraq, U.S. military troops have been supporting a NATO-led peacekeeping operation in Kosovo since June 1999.
Lt. Col. Rebecca C. Seese, of Columbus, Ga., just returned from a four-month deployment in Pristina, Kosovo, where she served as the Deputy Medical Advisor at HQ Kosovo Force, for Operation Joint Guardian.
At Ramstein, she works at U.S. Air Forces in Europe as the chief of strategic plans and programs.
Colonel Seese deployed in support of the NATO-led KFOR, which has been active in the wake of a 78-day air campaign launched by the Alliance in March 1999. The campaign aimed to halt and reverse the humanitarian catastrophe that was then unfolding.
The U.S. currently joins 23 other NATO nations, as well as 11 non-NATO nations by providing a total force of 16,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines. KFOR is run in support of wider international efforts to build peace and stability in the contested province.
Its presence remains crucial to guarantee security and stability in Kosovo as the diplomatic process led by the United Nations to define its future status moves forward. The alliance has promised to support the security provisions of final settlement.
KFOR has the mandate to enforce law and order until the UN Mission in Kosovo can fully assume this responsibility. They are actively involved in the demilitarisation of Kosovo. Tons of weapons and ammunition have been seized or handed to Kosovo forces.
KFOR and the UN Mission in Kosovo are partners in an international effort to restore Kosovo and help the local population transform the province into a free and democratic society that is open to all.
Although KFOR’s main responsibility is to create a secure environment, the multinational force provides resources, skills and manpower to various organizations and agencies working under the UNMIK umbrella.
(Courtesy of KFOR Public Information Office)
