Major General Michael E. Wegscheider said at the training range in Babaj i Bokës, as part of the multinational international exercise “Defender Europe 25,” that they have been successful in every critical task they set out to train and verify.
“It has been an honor to be invited to serve as the Divisional Command Post here. For the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister, and most importantly, my new friend, General Jashari. We have commanded from the continental United States with the main command post, with all communication systems and platforms across the ocean to the tactical command post here in Gjakova, with four multinational brigades from Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia, Croatia, and with the help of all other friends including our partner Lithuania. In every essential mission task we set to exercise and verify, we have succeeded. In my opinion, we have demonstrated full interoperability. And I will conclude with this. I have been here many times, to this beautiful place. Every time I return, I remain impressed. I have spent some years of my life here. The true hero of this exercise, out of the 18 participating countries, with blood, sweat, and much stress, the real hero is the nation of Kosovo. The KSF, General Jashari’s staff, officers and non-commissioned officers, but most importantly, the soldiers of the KSF who are 5,000 meters down in this valley to the south, sweating and proving their strong ability and determination. For us, it has been an extraordinary pleasure to be here and we look forward to working again with all the countries soon,” he said.
