A medal parade was held 15 Sep at EUFOR Headquarters in Camp Butmir, Sarajevo. COM EUFOR, Major General Friedrich Schrötter, presented the European Union Common Security and Defence Policy Medal Althea to 108 service personnel from 8 different nations and thanked them for their dedicated service in and for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
COM EUFOR, Major General Friedrich Schrötter presents the EUFOR Op ALTHEA medal to EUFOR soldiers.
“It gives me great pleasure to be here with you today, at the Medal Parade for 108 personnel of the Austrian, Bulgarian, Chilean, Finnish, Hungarian, Italian, Slovenian and Turkish contingents of EUFOR.”, he said.
“The award of such a medal is the symbol of your service with EUFOR. The wearing of this medal is an outward demonstration of your commitment, and your Nation’s commitment, to maintaining peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, to each recipient, the medal has a much more personal symbolism: In every case, it represents a sacrifice, of time away from family and friends, away from one’s home in the service of peace. Each recipient of the EUFOR medal can be proud of his or her achievements, knowing that all have contributed in some way towards the success of EUFOR’s mission.” He added.
Medal recipient and parade Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Stefan Koutnik of the Austrian said, “I am so proud to have served my country on this operation. Working with other European Countries and Partner Nations has been very interesting and rewarding.”
The EUFOR Operation Althea is currently made up of soldiers from 15 EU member states and 5 partner nations. Its primary roles are to provide capacity building and training support to the Armed Forces of BiH and to support BiH efforts to maintain a safe and secure environment, whilst providing support to the overall EU comprehensive strategy for BiH.