Blog Posts tagged with "Croatia"

Croatian President Ivo Josipovic talks with the Mayor of Slunj, school officials and the parents of children who attend Slunj Primary School during his visit . (Photo credit: MAJ G. Lee Sepulvado)

The town of Slunj, Croatia, was not far away and Diana and I were traveling there by car to participate in the Croatian President Ivo Josipovic’s visit to Slunj Primary School. For months prior, Diana had worked closely with the US and Croatian military representatives, as well as with the civilian authorities in the town of Slunj, to ensure the availability of the necessary construction materials for a renovation project at the Slunj Primary School. Today, she too could celebrate. The joint Croatian-US military exercise Immediate Response 2011 had just finished and President Josipovic was visiting the Croatian military base where the exercise had taken place. He was there to thank the Croatian and US military members who had participated in the exercise and to view several joint military construction projects that had taken place concurrently with the exercise.

One of these projects was the complete renovation of the boys’ changing and restroom facilities in Slunj Primary School that Diana had worked. More than 400 students attend Slunj Primary School and the boys’ and girls’ bathroom facilities were in need of complete renovation. With nearly $25,000  provided by US European Command’s Humanitarian Civic Assistance program (HCA) to purchase construction materials for the project, a joint US- Croatian military engineering team worked to complete the renovation. An extremely functional and beautiful changing and restroom facility was the result. The City of Slunj provided matching funds and labor to renovate the school’s girls’ changing and restroom facilities simultaneously.

Croatian President Ivo Josipovic posing with representatives of the Office of Defense Cooperation, US Mission Croatia, the Minnesota Army National Guard and US Army Europe representatives during his visit to the Slunj Primary School.(Photo credit: MAJ G. Lee Sepulvado)

Until it is absent or not available, the basics are sometimes easy to take for granted. A working restroom, a functional primary school, passable roads, responsive and capable civic and military institutions, and security are things not taken for granted by most in Slunj as the evidence and memories of its absences are still too near and remain in memory. But, at least for the current and future students of Slunj Primary School, a working restroom can now begin to be taken for granted.

MAJ G. Lee Sepulvado, US Army Reserve,
Civic Engagement Branch, Logistics Directorate

I feel like I am dreaming and could wake up any moment...

Comparing to the old dormitory this renovated one is like a castle from a fairy tale!

When I first came to this dorm and laid my eyes on the old building, I panicked – old walls, cracked windows, doors that wouldn't close, and the interior... it's better not to mention it! My first reaction was to run away, but there was something about it, something that wouldn't let me go.

At that moment I wasn't aware what it was, but now after having spent 4 years in the dorm, I realize that it was the good spirit of the dorm. I will always treasure its spirit and the people I lived with, both my fellow students, and the great dorm staff who helped us through those challenging adolescent years.

The dormitory kitchen staff.

You cannot imagine our joy now, in this new renovated dorm, in this paradise.

We can forget things that seem funny now – queueing to take a shower, freaking out when we would see bugs on our beds, chasing bats away, and I shouldn't even mention toilets!

We will continue to be good kids, and good students, and promise that we will get better and better each year, in the spirit of our motto – Life is an art of finding beauty and joy in everything.

The exterior of the renovated dormitory.

I said it so many times during the ceremony, but want to say it once again…Thank you for all the good you have done for the current, and all subsequent generations who will live and enjoy this dorm, thank you so much ... When I lived here it was both a paradise, and a calvary for me, but, I think, life here made me what I am now…..a young, but mature person ready for life ahead of me.

When I returned to my apartment after the opening ceremony, I cried like a child. Director Hincak is like a father to me, and every happy tear he shared with all of us feels as if I shared them with each and every one present there that day. You have returned that man a smile on his face, and not only to his, but also to all dorm students, both present and former… God has answered our prayers, and because of that: thank you :)

P.S.-sorry for my grammar mistakes :)

Marina Barić – Pinky
Vukovar Dorm Manager/Principal

Over the years I developed an appreciation of the little things in life.

Lt. Col. Charles Davis, the ODC for Croatia, visits a one-day-old child in one of the donated incubators. (Courtesy photo)

Recently, the United States European Command, in collaboration with the Office of Defense Cooperation Zagreb, Croatia, and US Embassy Zagreb, Croatia, donated two neonatal incubators to the General Hospital in Knin, Croatia. On average, the hospital delivers more than 300 babies a year. Twenty percent of these require incubator support. Before the donation, the hospital had to use two older incubators that often malfunctioned; this placed Croatia’s most precious national assets (the newborns) in grave risk. These state-of-the-art incubators will ensure quality care and support to those little ones who are most vulnerable.

Knin was once the capital of the Kingdom of Croatia during the reign of King Zvonimir in the 11th century.  More recently, Knin was deeply affected by the wars of the 1990's, a period during which many of the Serb inhabitants left the area. The U.S. Embassy is encouraging the resettlement of returning refugees who see a hospital as a prime requirement if they are going to raise a family in Knin.  The city is also important as a transportation hub with railroads from the rest of Dalmatia and its cities of Zadar, Split and Šibenik passing through Knin, going north to the capital city of Croatia, Zagreb.

In addition to the two incubators, five shipping containers of medical supplies and office furniture were also donated to the hospital. The total value of the donation was around $500,000. Taken separately, these donations don’t add up to much, but their combined affect results in a change from a sparingly stocked medical facility to a well stocked one.

EUCOM, ODC, and Croatian military personnel joined with Knin city and hospital officials for the official ceremony presenting the Knin Hospital with the two new incubators for neonatal care and with other medical supplies. (Photo courtesy of the Public Affairs Office of the City of Knin)

This is not the first time this hospital received the attention of the U.S. military. In a separate effort during the summer of 2009, United States Air Forces Europe engineers, working in close cooperation with the Croatian military engineers of the Guards Motorized Brigade headquartered in Knin, refurbished a large portions of the hospital’s children's wing, painted the interior while cleaning up the exterior, replaced radiators throughout the hospital with a more hygienic, efficient model, and repaired the ventilation system. The hospital’s proximity to the Guards Motorized Brigade’s nearby Crvena Zemlja training area (Red Land), which is used by U.S. forces during exercises, provided an additional reason for the U.S. military to invest in the facility.

So many important things in life are decided by the little things. As a parent myself, I don’t know how I would even be able to put a price on the health and well being of my own little ones that bring my life so much joy and meaning. I think I can understand the gratitude and excitement of the Knin community generated by this donation as well as the wisdom of the Department of Defense to sustain its relationship with this community.

MAJ C.L. Durk
J-4 Medical Readiness Division
U.S. European Command

Captain (Retired) Herman Cernovs, formerly of the Latvian Coast Guard Service and leader in the development of Latvia’s MRCC; Captain Ozren Lukenda, Croatian Coast Guard; Mr. John Owens, Environmental Response Coordinator for the Commander Naval Region, Europe, Africa and Southwest Asia; and Captain Boris Katicin, Deputy Coast Guard Commander, Croatia; discuss the operations of Latvia’s Maritime Rescue and Coordination Center (MRCC).

In human affairs, successful cooperation in one area often builds bridges to successful cooperation on other endeavors. In the case of Croatia and Latvia, successful security cooperation has recently led to cooperation on the protection of the natural and economic resources on the Dalmatian Coast.

The beautiful Dalmatian coast is an international destination for millions of travelers each year; and a crucial economic resource for Croatia. If an oil spill reached the Croatian coast, it could devastate not only the coast’s natural beauty, but the economic well-being of Croatian citizens who rely upon the tourist industry for their livelihood.

The Croatian Coast Guard would lead the Croatian government’s response to an oil spill that threatened Croatia’s coastline and is working to enhance its ability to respond to and manage the risk of such an event. It was for this purpose that Croatian Coast Guard representatives, with assistance from the US European Command’s Logistics Directorate, attended The Baltic Sea Oil Response Exercise (BALEX DELTA 2010) at the invitation of the Latvian Coast Guard.

I observe the movements of the BALEX DELTA 2010 exercise fleets from the deck of the Latvian Coast Guard Vessel VARONIS with Captain Ozren Lukenda from the Croatian Coast Guard and Mr. Brock Durig of Naval Forces Europe.

While aboard the Latvian Coast Guard vessel VARONIS, the Croatian Coast Guard representatives were able to observe vessels and participants from Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland working together, and with the staff of the Latvian Coast Guard Service. While strong winds during the exercise period prevented the deployment of some planned oil response equipment, including the traditional BALEX rowing completion, many activities and events still went forward to include interactions and coordinating meetings between the overall event coordinator and the commanders of each national contingent element, seminars and lectures in oil response management and strategy meetings.

The recent events surrounding the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon and the ensuing oil spill that created havoc with the environment and economy of the US Gulf Coast clearly demonstrate the potentially devastating natural and economic impacts of oil spills. Croatia and Latvia’s efforts to reach out to others to learn and share best practices in mitigating the effects of an oil spill event illustrate the value of partnerships and how a strong security partnership can build bridges to partnerships in other important endeavors.

Mr. Mike Brown
Environmental Engineer
US European Command
Logistics Directorate

That’s a wrap as they say in Hollywood, or so I’ve heard.  Eighteen months of planning, training, and effort finished with the after action review. 

It was strange, but unlike other events, there was an odd feeling that hung over the group.  It was there in the background from beginning to end and I sensed it too.  It was like your last week of high school or college.  You worked all this time to finish.  You couldn’t wait to get to the end to see fruits of your labor.  But, now you are at the finish line and you wish it wasn’t really over.  I suppose exercises do mimic real life.

I used the phrase “that’s a wrap”, and interestingly enough, as an exercise control group member it felt like a movie production.  Overall, the training audience members performed exceptionally.  Scattered throughout moments of perfection, there were moments that required do-overs, problems that were solved, problems that were never implemented, products made and products revised.  The training audience was pushed unusually hard, beyond their normal limits, yet to a person, everyone believed they were fortunate to have participated.  It wasn’t only the training audience that felt fortunate to participate, I did as well. 

One of EUCOM's missions is to build partner capacity, I believe we did that by helping the three Adriatic Nations gain interoperability amongst the participants,  increase familiarity within the complexity of support to a brigade-size task force in an out-of-area operation,  and promote cooperation and coordination amongst the three Nations' logistics staffs.

Let’s face it, there is nothing easy about planning to move thousands of people as well as ships full of equipment, real or notional, to another continent.  These officers and non-commissioned officers still had to put in the same planning, create the “what if” contingency plans, spend hours of coordination, and learn how to solve problems as they arose.  

There is no doubt that Croatian, Macedonian, and Albanian logisticians can be called on if their Nations’ are asked to participate in a future NATO-led mission.  I know they will perform magnificently and will enhance that operation, and that is what it is about.  An operation is always easier if there is trust amongst the various entities and a common understanding.    I feel that everyone came out of the exercise better knowing one another, they have a better grasp of logistics complexities, and they can do it using NATO doctrine.  

So, the exercise is over and we will go our separate ways; however, the memories and friendships made here will go on well into the future. We all learned, we all grew, and we are better off for having been a part of the LOGEX 09. 

Hvala and Gëzuar to my new Adriatic Friends.

MAJ Steve Wilke
EUCOM J4

This is my first blog for Logistics Exercise 2009.  Hope you enjoy it!  Thanks for tracking!

I arrived on time at “Alexander the Great” airport.  Thankfully, my trip was uneventful as it was my previous few times.  I was greeted by partly sunny skies, a warm breeze, my luggage (thankfully) and Macedonian Army Officer, my ride.  While the airport name invites visions of grandeur, I am always struck by it’s quaintness.  There are two departure gates to and two arrival baggage carousels.   The staff and people efficient in deed, pleasant in nature, and quick to help.    No surprise really, as I have never found my hosts and LOGEX friends unpleasant or unprofessional in any way. 

I have immensely enjoyed the months of planning and preparation that will culminate with this final event.  The various trips to all of the primary participating countries, of Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia were superb as well.

The very first ever iteration of LOGEX was hosted by Croatia in 2007.  This go round, it is Macedonia’s turn to be host for the LOGEX series.  I have to tip my hat to Macedonian Armed Forces for their outstanding efforts as the lead nation (host).  It isn’t easy to play host and bear the extra burdens of responsibility, effort, and additional financial strain that this title bestows. 

Soon we will begin this final chapter.  Stay tuned to the blog and follow me on Twitter @LOGEX09!
Cheers

US Army Major Steve Wilke
EUCOM J4

So, the final event of LOGEX 09 is upon us...

This exercise is the culmination of more than 16 months of effort. There were numerous planning conferences, capability workshops, training sessions, classroom instruction and logistics courses all over Europe. All of that was in preparation for this next week.

This exercise will train logistics staff officers from the Macedonian, Albanian, and Croatian Armed forces. They will train on NATO command and control systems, the many facets of a large unit deployment, sustainment and redeployment.

The notional scenario creates an “Adriatic Brigade” that is supporting a United Nations mandated, but NATO commanded mission on the continent of Africa. The mission of the fictional brigade is to deploy forces from home bases to East Africa and sustain forces for extended operations. That in turn will support the fictional OPERATION STABLE PEACE. If the notional scenario warrants, the Adriatic Brigade will support the United Nations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and various International Organizations (IO) for stabilization and reconstruction efforts within the area of operations. Then, upon completion, redeploy forces back to home stations.

So why Africa? Because, it’s a long way from home, creates many logistical problems and the fictional operations area is geographically different than any place within the Adriatic nations home soil.

The beauty of notional exercises is learning…..the problems are hard, the answers need to be real and the mistakes are free.

Along with members of Joint Forces Command (Norfolk, VA), I will be an exercise controller. We controllers bend and sway the training audience with fictional scenario based problems. As the military’s premier trainers, the guys from Joint Forces Command have shepherded this exercise process with European Command’s blessing the entire way. It was a great multi-command team effort.

Our first two days have been the standard administrative minutia. Get checked in, listen to some baseline briefs, reacquaint yourself with the “LOGEX family”, get computer accounts running, do communications checks, review the plans and review the exercise problems or injects.

Although we have officially begun, the real work and value of our efforts begins tomorrow with the mini-exercise, which is like a scrimmage. Our hope is that this will make us “Stronger Together.”

Leave me a comment and follow me on Twitter @LOGEX09!

Cheers
US Army Major Steve Wilke
EUCOM J4

The Jackal Stone Special Operations Training Exercise is now officially finished with the successful completion of the closing ceremony Saturday afternoon, Sept. 26.  And as with all military operations (especially special operations in my experience), flexibility remained key.  You see, we set up for the ceremony on a concrete “parade field” area on Zemunik Air Base near Zadar, Croatia (beautiful area by the way).  Of course, we had already briefed the boss, we’d conducted a rehearsal, and we had set up all of the props – chairs, podium, speakers, etc.  Those scheduled to be given awards were seated and awaiting the beginning of the ceremony.   The plan was in place.

Flags representing the ten nations that participated in Jackal Stone 2009. (Photo by Army Master Sgt. Donald Sparks)

It was a typical late September cloudless day in central Croatia – sunny and about 85 degrees, which is great for the beach, but not so exciting if you have to sit on a concrete slab for a 30 minute ceremony.  I gathered that the assembling masses did not particularly care to hang out in the hot sun as I observed them wander up and stop short of the parade field, electing to wait in the cooler shade of the surrounding trees until the last possible moment.  Just as I announced that the ceremony would begin in five minutes, Maj Gen Kisner appeared out of nowhere (amazing how senior officers can appear out of thin air like that) and offered a “suggestion” to me.  He recommended that we move everything into the shade so that people would not have to bake in the sunlight.  In my experience, when a general officer makes a “suggestion” like that, I do my best to accommodate – it tends to make things go better. 

So, I made the announcement to flip everything 180 degrees into the shaded area.  Mind you, this is all occurring five minutes before “go” time.  Immediately, people charged out of the woodline, grabbed chairs, and placed them neatly into the shaded area opposite of the parade field.  The PA system and podium were uprooted and moved to their new location and all of the senior country representatives’ chairs were relocated to the shade.  This operation took exactly three minutes and we were ready to go on time as scheduled.  It was the right decision and I was truly impressed how the team members who had been working together in the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF) for the past two weeks sprang into action to make the general’s “suggestion” a reality.  Even though I was impressed, I wasn’t surprised.  They had all been working day and night together, developing bonds of friendship over the past two weeks planning and then reacting to complex exercise scenarios.  They were used to the unexpected, and this twist was nothing for them. 

Soldiers who participated in Jackal Stone 2009 attend the closing ceremony. (Photo by Army Master Sgt. Donald Sparks)

The ceremony proceeded quickly and flawlessly.  Maj Gen Kisner remarked that the exercise had been a true success and that it had attained the goal of increasing our interoperability.  The CJSOTF had conducted a total of 17 combat operations throughout the country during the two weeks on the ground, to include four special reconnaissance, six direct action, three hostage rescue, two maritime interdiction and two personnel recovery operations – almost all of them during periods of darkness.  We had incredible support from the 160^th Special Operations Aviation Regiment’s two MH-47s as well as Croatia’s two Mi-171 helicopters and the 352^nd Special Operations Group’s MC-130P Combat Shadows.  In addition, the USS Higgins as well as U.S. and coalition rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) were assisting with all of our maritime training conducted near Split, Croatia. 

It will be tough to replicate an experience like this, but we will start planning this upcoming month for Jackal Stone 10.  With the relationships and professional interoperability gained during this exercise, we’ll all be ready for the unexpected whenever or wherever it occurs.  That’s just what we do in SOCEUR.

MAJ Jim Gregory
SOCEUR PAO

Over a decade ago, the brilliant writer Robert Kaplan published an award-winning study of the long history of turmoil, racial and religious hatred, conquest, and war in the Balkans. His evocative title was perfect for his themes of historical enmity and bitterness: Balkan Ghosts.

Speaking with Brig. Gen. Drazen Scuri after arriving in Croatia.

As I fly back from a three day visit of the region, I certainly had ample opportunity to see firsthand all that he describes; yet today, there seems to me to be real hope in the region for cooperation and security alignment, perhaps for the first time in the more than two millenniums of recorded history.

I’ve now visited the Balkans several times in both my NATO and U.S. European Command (EUCOM) hats.

My first stop was Kosovo, where we have 15,000 NATO troops leading a peace support operation. Things there continue to go quite well, and we are in the process of reducing the forces on the ground to 10,000 by January 2010. We’ll look for opportunities as next year unfolds to reduce even further.

A Polish Special operations assault team dashes to the rear of an U.S. Army MH-47 helicopter during fast rope insertion/extraction system training during Exercise Jackal Stone 09 in Croatia.

Last week, I went to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where I presided over the conclusion of a 39-nation, EUCOM-sponsored communications exercise called Combined Endeavor 2009. Bosnia and Herzegovina was the host for this remarkable display of connectivity and cooperation. The tri-partite Presidents, representing the three key ethnic groups in the country, came together to celebrate the event making it a success on many levels.

A couple of days ago, I visited Croatia, where a special operation forces exercise with 10 nations and more than a thousand soldiers was in full swing. I rode out to sea in a U.S. Army helicopter with a Croatian Vertical Insertion Team, and then flew up north to the exercise control center. There I saw representatives from each nation doing practice hostage rescue, boarding at sea, direct action, intelligence gathering – all in a seamless spirit of international military partnering.

With Montenegro's Speaker of the Parliament, Ranko Krivokapic.

And finally, I visited Montenegro, a small and newly independent country on the Adriatic Sea. Above the beautiful and historic Bay of Korta, I joined the leadership of five Adriatic Charter nations discussing mutual support in the event of natural disasters. The mood of the conference was upbeat, and I departed very optimistic about the future.

Old ghosts die hard – especially in the Balkans. But, if a ghost is something that haunts our past, I am starting to believe not in Balkan ghosts, but rather in Balkan dreams – dreams of a region that truly works together in peaceful ways and is moving into a far brighter future.

Admiral James G. Stavridis
Commander
U.S. European Command

Meeting with the Minister of Defense of Portugal, Nuno Severiano Teixeira, on 21 SEP 09.

I had a good series of meetings in Lisbon, Portugal on Monday. The gathering in Lisbon was with all of the Defense Chiefs from the 28 nations of NATO. We focused on two key topics for the alliance: Afghanistan and the Strategic Concept.

Afghanistan, of course, is the “here and now.” General Stan McChrystal presented his classified briefing on the situation there. He emphasized the need to protect the Afghan population in order to defeat the insurgency; the requirement for robust training for Afghan security forces; and the imperative to achieve the right balance of civil-military efforts in this challenging situation.

The Strategic Concept is, on the other hand, all about the future of NATO. Every ten years, the alliance tends to take a step back and assess where it is headed. One of the distinguished speakers, New York Times columnist Roger Cohen, spoke of needing to understand “the four Rs” of NATO: relevance, range, resources, and results. I think he has it about right, and he specifically talked about the need to “get the message right” to the younger generations who have little understanding of what this transatlantic bridge is all about.

I jumped on a plane yesterday and headed to Croatia and Montenegro. This time, wearing my hat as Commander of U.S. European Command (EUCOM), I am headed to observe a superb special forces exercise in Croatia, then attend a five-nation conference on Balkan security in Montenegro.

The flight down gave me time to finalize the fundamentals for EUCOM:  a vision, mission, set of themes, and a motto.

EUCOM Mission: U.S. European Command conducts military operations and builds partner capacity to enhance transatlantic security and defend the homeland forward.

EUCOM Vision: An agile security organization with a "whole of government" approach seeking to support enduring stability and peace in Europe and Eurasia.

EUCOM Themes:
• Ready forces provide regional security.
• Mutual security challenges require cooperative solutions.
• EUCOM is committed to enduring partnerships.

EUCOM Motto: "Stronger Together"

Getting the fundamentals right is important, and I think we’ve got it right here.  As always, though, I look forward to hearing what you think.

It’s a busy week of both NATO and U.S. European Command business, but with good progress on all fronts – and thank goodness for the ability to move so rapidly between capitals to be part of security in Europe!

Admiral James G. Stavridis
Commander
U.S. European Command

I just returned to Patch Barracks, Germany from Knin, Croatia where I had the unique opportunity to spend time with a few of the Airmen deployed from the 435th Construction and Training Squadron (CTS), stationed at Ramstein AB, Germany. They function as a rapidly deployable construction unit with capabilities such as: carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, pavement and road construction. After seeing them in action, I know that the previous list is just a portion of their skills.

The Airmen are there to support infrastructure initiatives and humanitarian assistance projects that encourage refugees to resettle in the local area.

When the Chief of the Office of Cooperation in Zagreb, LTC Chuck Davis, and I caught up with the Airmen, they were in the middle of a refurbishment project to the hospital in Knin which serves the local population of 15,000 and the surrounding communities. Now with the help of the U.S. European Command and United States Air Forces in Europe, this hospital and the local population are seeing tangible results and have another reason to take pride in this beautiful mountain town.

This project has garnered attention from the press. Scarcely an hour after our arrival, the press arrived to interview the director of the hospital, the Brigade Commander of the Croatian Guards Motorized Brigade - Brigadier General Fuzul, the Mayor of Knin, and LTC Davis.

Media interviewing hospital director in Knin, Croatia

All emphasized the importance of the project to the people of the area. A half hour after leaving the hospital, while we shared a lunch at a local restaurant, our Croatian hosts at one point quieted the table and asked the restaurant staff to turn up the radio - the story was being broadcast on local radio with the voice of the translator replacing that of LTC Davis. Their report was positive. I have been told that the newspaper coverage the following day was equally positive.

Fourteen members of 435 CTS have worked hard to improve the sanitation of the hospital by repairing and painting the walls throughout the hospital - this is not the kind of paint job that you or I would do on a weekend at home, but rather the complete sealing of the walls with a high-gross paint on a well prepped surface that can be easily cleaned and kept sanitary. As well, they installed reinforced steel edges on the walls to resist the erosion from the bumping of gurneys when transporting patients. Walking in the children's ward I rounded one of these corners destined for steel reinforcing, only to find two airmen with masks and sledgehammers making small work of the pre-existing bathroom: the new bathrooms will include rugged, commericial faucets that will conserve water, a precious commodity.

Two airmen suveying ventilation system of hospital in Knin, Croatia

The ventilation system is being brought back into function, allowing the system to circulate fresh air into the building and remove potential microbes in the air. The Airmen are also replacing radiators which had ceased to adequately heat because of rust and sediment build-up. The new ones will function better and have clearance from the wall to allow forquick and effective cleaning.

Two airmen from the 435th CTS offloading new radiators

This project is especially important because its focus is primarily the hospital's children's ward. It is a focus that the Airmen were proud to highlight by painting the ward in bright, cheerful colors, the kind of colors they would want their own children to have around them while they recuperate.

As this project winds down, I know that our airmen will leave with heavy hearts.

LTC Davis and BG Fuzul

Our thanks goes to the hospital staff, the people of Knin and our local military hosts for their hospitality throughout the visit of the professionals of the 435 CTS.

Hvala! Dovidjenja, vidimo se opet! "Thanks! See you soon!"

Major Eric Tramel, USAF
HQ US European Command
Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Program Manager