In camp BUTMIR on 14th August 2018 the command of the multinational battalion was forwarded from Lieutenant Colonel Markus Schwaiger to Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Pilles. During the ceremony Commander EUFOR, Major General Martin Dorfer, handed over the colours of the Multinational Battalion from the outgoing commander, LTC Markus Schwaiger, to the new commander LTC Oliver Pilles. Receiving the flag of the MNBN is symbolic for taking over the command and the responsibilities of the battalion.
COMEUFOR hands the MNBN Colours to Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Pilles
At the moment the multinational battalion consists of a cadre, formed out of Austrian, Hungarian and Turkish soldiers together with a Hungarian and Turkish infantry company. In case of an alert in Sarajevo deployed troops could be reinforced by companies from Austria, Great Britain, Bulgaria and Romania.
The outgoing Commander MNBN, LTC Markus Schwaiger thanked Commander EUFOR for his leadership and the troops of the MNBN staff and companies for their very high professionalism during the whole time of his duty. The new commander, LTC Oliver Pilles marked his appointment as Commander MNBN as one of his careers highlights and emphasized that he is confident he will handle the upcoming challenges and he is looking forward especially to the upcoming Exercise Quick Response 2018.
