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<\/a><\/p>\nCAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo \u2014 Kosovo Force military police celebrated National Police Appreciation Week May 10-14. Maryland Army National Guard Soldiers with the 29th Military Police Company, assigned to KFOR\u2019s Regional Command-East, hosted international MP forces from Italy, Poland, Austria and Switzerland at Camp Bondsteel in an unprecedented week of cooperative training.
National Police Appreciation Week was founded by former U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1962 to celebrate the work of police officers across the country and pay special tribute to those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.<\/a>
\u201c[National Police Appreciation Week] is observed in the U.S. every year during this time period, and I wanted to include our NATO partners in this observation as well,\u201d said Iowa Army National Guard Capt. Nate Hoeger, RC-E provost marshal. \u201cI thought it would be a good opportunity to train with our police officer partners to strengthen the NATO police community here in KFOR.\u201d
The troops kicked off the week with a pistol qualification range on Monday, an obstacle course on Tuesday, and ended the week with a ten-kilometer ruck and celebratory barbeque on Friday. Hoeger worked closely with his international counterparts to organize the events.<\/a>
\u201cI like the collaboration with other MPs,\u201d said Capt. Luca Ghirlanda, deputy command provost marshal for the international military police at Camp Film City. \u201cIt was very good to find other friends to have not only duty, but a little bit of shooting and a little bit of training with.\u201d
Not only were many countries part of the training, but the participants represented a wide variety of KFOR organizations as well, including Regional Command-West, U.S. Air Force Security Forces and KFOR Headquarters. It was an opportunity for these organizations to come together and focus on building mutual understanding and strong partnerships.<\/a>
\u201cThis training benefits the KFOR mission tremendously by building greater camaraderie between U.S. and international military police officers,\u201d said Hoeger. \u201cThis training has allowed us to get a taste of each nation\u2019s military police capabilities and a greater understanding for standard operating procedures.\u201d
Soldiers with the 29th MP Company and their international counterparts worked together to complete challenging events, often through interpreters. Hoeger emphasized their professionalism and adaptability during the training.
As the troops shared laughs and swapped unit patches, it was clear that the basic appreciation for the job and growing partnerships was never lost in translation.
\u201cI like that we were able to make this training happen,\u201d said Hoeger. \u201cWe can still recognize the selfless service of our civilian law enforcement officers that are deployed away from home here in Kosovo as well as recognize the U.S. Army military police officers that are here policing RC-E.\u201d<\/p>\n